New tower for Karapiro

The latest in the progress towards the 2010 World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, is the upcoming construction of a new finish tower.

Building a new finish tower will complete the new permanent structures at the lake. The former finish tower, the Don Rowlands Tower, was built by weekend volunteers for the 1978 World Rowing Championships and it is to be replaced in time for the World Rowing Championships which begins at the end of October. The Don Rowlands Tower has been demolished in preparation for the building of the new one.

“The old finish tower was ageing and in need of both repair and upgrading so we had to decide whether repair or rebuilding was the best option,” said Tony Popplewell, who chairs Karapiro Rowing Inc. “The 2010 World Rowing Championships gives us a unique opportunity to leverage funding for a new facility. We might not get this chance again.”

“We are delighted that a new finish tower will be built for the World Championships,” said 2010 World Rowing Championships CEO Tom Mayo. “It will be tremendous for the event and is another significant addition to the capital legacy for rowing in New Zealand.”

The new tower will cost approximately $650,000 (about $USD 440,000).

This year’s World Rowing Championships goes from 31 October to 7 November and will take place at Lake Karapiro, the national training centre for the New Zealand Rowing squad.

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