2010 Rowing World Cup season kicks off on Lake Bled, Slovenia

All the top nations are represented among the 38 nations competing. Great Britain, last year’s overall World Cup winner shall present a team of 60 athletes racing in 26 crews. Germany, last year’s second nation only brings a small contingent of 15 rowers but shall be strongly represented by some of its successful crews, including Marcel Hacker, back in the single after a 2009 season centred around the German quad. Italy, one of the World Cups other leading nations will travel to Bled with 61 athletes and will be testing out several new lines-ups including a Mornati-Carboncini pair.

In spite of the distance, New Zealand, this year’s World Championships host nation, shall represent their nation with a men’s pair, a men’s and women’s single and a women’s quad in a ploy to remind the world that they are planning to put on a great show in the lead-up to their World Championships next November.

The first regatta starts off with an unusual twist, as star Slovenian sculler Iztok Cop has decided to team up with Norway’s Olaf Tufte to form a Norwegian double. Cop has indicated that this will be the last race of his career and it was his decision to try to row a race with Olaf Tufte, a long time friend and fierce rival.

According to Rowing World Cup Rules an athlete must be a citizen of that country or a bona fide member of a rowing club in the country for which he competes in order to represent a country in the Rowing World Cup. Cop is a member of Olaf Tufte’s Club (Horten RK) in Norway and therefore is entitled to represent Norway.

Host nation Slovenia, despite the absence of their lead rower,shall be proudly represented by brothers Luka and Jan Spik racing in the men’s quad, and brothers Ziga, Tomaz and Miha Pirih, together with Rok Kolander in the men’s four.

In an effort to better promote the sport of rowing, FISA has reshuffled the traditional order of racing to end the finals programme with a one hour block of the “blue riband” events:  the Men’s and Women’s Singles and the Women’s and Men’s Eights. The main aim of this change is to provide a concise, all inclusive one hour programme of the most known boat classes that can be easily broadcast on TV. It is the first time this new format shall be tested.

Lake Bled has hosted three World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979 and 1989. This first leg of the 2010 Rowing World Cup series will serve as a test event for the 2011 World Rowing Championships.

Rowing holds a big place in Slovenia since its legendary rower Iztok Cop became Slovenia’s first ever Olympic Champion with crewmate Luka Spik in Sydney. Cop’s three Olympic and 12 World Championship medals make him the most accomplished athlete in his nation. In terms of the number of medals won at Olympic and World Championship level, rowing is the most successful sport in Slovenia.

A full Rowing World Cup event by event preview will be available on www.worldrowing.com from Wednesday 26 May.
Entries and race schedules are available on www.worldrowing.com or by clicking here from today.

The event finals will be video streamed live on Sunday 30 May and can be accessed through the www.worldrowing.com website.

The Rowing World Cup series was launched in 1997, and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall Rowing World Cup winners are determined after a series of three regattas. Germany has dominated the series since its beginning ten years ago. This year, the three stages of the series are held in Bled, Slovenia (27-30 May), Munich, Germany (18-20 June); and the final in Lucerne, Switzerland (9-11 July).

Media accreditation can be requested through the website (www.worldrowing.com > media > media accreditation).