Juniors to test Beijing Olympic waters

Situated on the outskirts of Beijing, the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park will host 600 junior rowers on the newly constructed 2000m course. The majority of these athletes will be competing for the first time at an international event.

The junior men’s single boasts the largest number of entries (31) and with the medallists from 2006 all having moved on to the next level, the field is wide open for a new Junior Champion. The junior women’s double is the next largest with 28 entries.

Of the 49 nations participating, a large number of Asian countries will compete including North Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and, of course, a large team of 44 rowers from China. Germany is fielding the biggest team with entries in all 13 events on the programme. Traditionally, Germany is the strongest nation for juniors. Last year, at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Amsterdam, they won a staggering 11 medals.

Special interest from the sporting world will be focused on these Championships as they are the first official test event for the Beijing Olympics. Also on this day, Beijing will present one-year-to-go celebrations. A three-hour ceremony is planned for Tiananmen Square as well as a number of events around China throughout that week. The official one-year-to-go song, “We Are Ready” will be released.

Rowing is one of 12 test events planned for Beijing through the month of August.

To compete in the World Rowing Junior Championships, rowers must be 18 years or under. The World Rowing Junior Championships are partly subsidised by the World Rowing Masters Regatta which donates 1 Euro of every Masters Regatta entry fee for supporting youth rowing.

Entries and an updated race schedule are also available online.

Visit the official website of the International Rowing Federation www.worldrowing.com during the event to follow the live audio streaming, live results, race reports, interviews, photos and more.