Rowing reaches out into the Pacific

An initiative with the backing of Rowing Australia has meant that the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has rowing boats to use.

A shipment of 14 boats recently arrived at Vanuatu including two eights, four fours plus double and single sculls.

Vanuatu became a member federation of FISA in 2008 and in 2009, the Vanuatu Rowing Association (VAN) became a full member of the Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC).

Support for the venture has been led by Rowing Australia’s national development and events director Matt Draper with FISA helping cover the cost of transport and repair. FISA’s development manager Sheila Stephens Desbans said that it was the first time in many years that FISA had made an initiative in the Oceania region.

The rowing push into the Pacific has been helped by FISA Continental Representative for Oceania and head of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates who recently set up the Oceania Rowing Confederation with the aim to strengthen the sport of rowing into the Pacific, beyond just Australia and New Zealand.

Australian Olympic coach Reinhold Batschi has added his backing and will soon leave for Vanuatu. “Reinhold will assess where the programme is and where it should go and that will be the first step, hopefully they will be able to send a team to regional events once they develop a team,” says Stephens Desbans.

“This initiative would not have happened without the direct leadership of John Coates and Matt Draper through Rowing Australia and we hope that we will be able to build on this collaboration,” says Stephens Desbans. “The speed with which the donation of equipment came together was truly exceptional and we are now interested to see how things go once we get the equipment into Vanuatu and try to get a larger local programme going.”

Secretary of the Vanuatu Rowing Association John Maschke says the association is very much a fledgling organisation at present. “There are currently 50 members of the Port Vila Rowing Club including a small group of ni-Vanuatu nationals plus members of the expatriate community (mainly Australians, New Zealanders and French) in Port Vila,” says Maschke. “It is expected that a modest growth in membership will occur during 2010 of adult members. A development plan will see the recruiting of high school students interested in rowing to ensure the longevity of rowing as a sport in Vanuatu.”

Vanuatu has a population of 230,000 spread over 83 islands with a sizeable chunk of the population in the capital of Port Vila. Rowing will take place on a sheltered, salt water lagoon close to Port Vila.

Last November, before the shipment of boats arrived, Vanuatu’s first rowing regatta took place using two fours that were already at the Port Vila club. “The regatta was very successful and it was also used for the purpose of obtaining funds to build a permanent rowing shed. While the rowing times were not world beating, the participants were very enthusiastic. The ni-Vanuatu crew did quite well and have maintained a good interest in the sport,” says Maschke.

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