GB Announces Full Eton World Cup Team
Great Britain today announced its full team, supported by Lottery Funding through UK Sport, for the BearingPoint World Cup due to be staged at Dorney Lake, Eton, from May 26-28th.
It is the first time in almost two decades that this level of Olympic rowing has been seen in the UK. 500 rowers will compete from 39 countries including some of world rowing’s super-powers such as Germany, Australia and Canada.
As host nation, Britain has entered the biggest team for the event with 62 rowers in 25 boats.
Several lightweight crews have been added to the earlier GB list of announcements as well as an open weight women’s eight.
Matthew Wells, winner of the 2003 and 2004 national trials in the single scull, has recovered sufficiently from a back injury to be named alongside Colin Smith and Ian Lawson in the same boat category for the World Cup.
Today’s additions join an already-established squad which features a mix of eight Olympic medallists as well as a number of new names as the sport begins its long-term planning for Beijing 2008 and beyond.
Katherine Grainger, twice an Olympic silver medallist, and Steve Williams, gold medallist in the men’s four at the Athens Olympic Games, are the squad’s figureheads.
"The crowds in Athens really moved me", said Williams of the prospect of competing at home. "The chance to have that party festival atmosphere here is an exciting prospect".
"We train at Dorney Lake all the time", said Grainger. "Now we’re going to race here in front of a home crowd.
Being territorial we will be saying ‘this is our ground" and if you want to come and take it from us you’ll need to be darn good".
Sarah Winckless, Fran Houghton, Debbie Flood, Rebecca Romero, Elise Laverick and Kieran West are the other Olympic medallists named.
Peter Reed, Andy Hodge and Alex Partridge continue to draw attention as they have moved into the lead men’s boat, the four, with Steve Williams this season.
Reed’s progress in the sport to date has a touch of the fairytale about it. He only began rowing three and a half years ago at the University of the West of England.
A sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Reed has since twice been part of Oxford’s Boat Race crew and won the GB
Senior Trials this season with Andy Hodge.
The squad also features Annie Vernon and Alex Gregory who are the first graduates of the sport’s talent identification programme, World Class Start, funded by the National Lottery through Sport England, to gain selection for senior Olympic class boats.
Alison Knowles and Beth Rodford of Thames RC, are set to have a busy three days. They are doubling up in the women’s pair and eight.
The World Cup will also include the "National Lottery Legends Sprint" during which Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster will re-enact the Sydney final in which Sir Steve won his fifth gold.
The race is rowing’s contribution to the Tsunami Appeal with donations raising money for the World Food Programme. Five of the six crews in that final look set to make the journey to the UK to compete.
The BearingPoint World Cup will be televised live on Saturday 28 May by BBC Television.
<h3>Team List</h3><h4>Open</h4><h4>Women</h4><h5>Pair</h5>Beth Rodford/Alison Knowles (Thames)
<h5>Eight</h5>Katie Greves/Natasha Page/Beth Rodford/Natasha Howard/Florence Temple/Jessica Eddie/Anna Bebington/Alison Knowles/Charlotte Ware (cox)
(Uni of London/Reading Uni/Thames/Tideway Scullers/Thames/Uni of London/Rob Roy/Thames)
<h5>Single scull</h5>Debbie Flood (Leander)
<h5>Double scull</h5>Elise Laverick/Annie Vernon (Thames/Rob Roy)
<h5>Quadruple scull</h5>Rebecca Romero/Sarah Winckless/Frances Houghton/Katherine Grainger
(Leander/Walbrook/Uni of London/St Andrew)
<h4>Men</h4><h5>Pair</h5>Josh West/Kieran West (Cambridge Uni/Uni of London)
<h5>Four</h5>Steve Williams/Peter Reed/Alex Partridge/Andy Triggs Hodge
(Leander/Oxford Uni/Leander/Oxford Uni)
<h5>Eight</h5>Tom Broadway/Phil Simmons/Tom Parker/Tom Stallard/Jonno Devlin/Richard Egington/Simon Fieldhouse/Henry Bailhache-Webb/Acer Nethercott (cox)
(Uni of London/Leander/Ox.Brookes/Molesey/Ox.Brookes/Leander/Molesey/Ox.Brookes/Oxford Uni)
<h5>Single scull (three boats)</h5>Matthew Wells (Uni of London)
Ian Lawson (Leander)
Colin Smith (Oxford Uni)
<h5>Quadruple scull</h5>Alan Campbell/Steven Rowbotham/Alex
Gregory/Matt Langridge
(Tideway Scullers/Molesey/Reading Uni/Leander)
<h4>Lightweights</h4><h4>Women</h4><h5>Single scull (four boats)</h5>Naomi Hoogesteger (Durham Uni)
Jennifer Goldsack
Hester Goodsell (York Uni)
Antonia Van Deventer (Rob Roy)
<h5>Double scull</h5>Jo Hammond/Helen Casey (Kingston/Wallingford)
Lorna Norris/Tanya Brady (Mortlake/Wallingford)
<h4>Men</h4><h5>Pair (two boats)</h5>Mike Hennessy (Tideway Scullers)/Simon Jones (Ryde RC)
Nick English/Daniel Harte (Notts & Union/London RC)
<h5>Four</h5>Paul Mattick/David Currie/Matthew Beechey/Nick Wakefield (Wallingford/Leander/Leander/Leander)
<h5>Single scull (two boats)</h5>Tim Male (Tideway Scullers)
Zac Purchase (Marlow RC)
<h5>Double scull (two boats)</h5>Mark Hunter/James Lindsay-Fynn (Leander/London RC)
Alistair Brown/James Stephenson (Leander/Molesey)
<h5>Team Manager:</h5>David Tanner
<h5>Coaches</h5>Jurgen Grobler/Steve Gunn/John West/Tim Foster/Sean Bowden/Mark Earnshaw
Paul Thompson/Mark Banks/Nick Strange/Gary Stubbs/Ron Needs
Robin Williams/Rob Morgan/Alan Inns/Darren Whiter/Rob Dauncey
Miles Forbes-Thomas/Peter Sudbury/
Emma Hall-Craggs/Don McLachlan/Adrian Cassidy
<h3>Forthcoming Dates</h3><h5>May</h5>4 Crew Announcement Day – Eton-Dorney World Cup
6-8 Munich Junior Regatta
11 National Lottery Legends Sprint – Sydney Four row their boat away from the museum.
13 Essen Regatta to 15th
26 – 28 World Cup, Eton-Dorney (finals 28th)
<h5>June</h5>4 French Match, Versailles
17 World Cup, Munich (to 19th)
29 Henley Royal Regatta (to July 3rd)
<h5>July</h5>8 World Cup, Lucerne (to 10th)
20 GB Training Camps (to 7 August)
22 World U23 Championships, Amsterdam (to 24th)
<h5>August</h5>3 World Junior Championships, Brandenburg (to 6th)
10 GB Senior Training Camp (to 18th), UK
28 World Championships, Japan (to September 4th)
<h5>October</h5>22 1st Assessment Trials, Boston, Lincs
<h5>November</h5>14 British Indoor Championships
<h5>December</h5>17 2nd Assessment Trials, Boston, Lincs
<h3>Contact Details</h3>For media enquiries about British Rowing please contact <a href="../contact/index.php#Caroline">Caroline Searle</a>
British Rowing website – <a href="../biographies/index.php">full biogs available here</a>.
International Rowing returns to GB for the World Cup in May 2005 and the 2006 World Rowing Championships – both at Eton. You’ll be kept up to date by BearingPoint World Cup Eton News. Official website <a href="http://www.wrc2006.com" target="blank">www.wrc2006.com</a>
Accreditation and results details for major international events can be found at <a href="http://www.worldrowing.com" target="blank">www.worldrowing.com</a>
The GB Rowing Squad is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund as part of UK Sport’s World Class Performance Programme.
