British Rowing Offshore Championships prepares to make a splash this weekend
The first ever British Rowing Offshore Championships, presented by Visit Sarasota County, will take place this weekend on Saturday, 29 and Sunday, 30 July at Sandbanks Beach, Poole
This Saturday and Sunday, the first ever British Rowing Offshore Championships, presented by Visit Sarasota County, will take place at Sandbanks Beach, Poole, Dorset.
Forty-three crews will be competing across six different events: men’s and women’s coastal single sculls, men’s and women’s coastal double sculls, and the men’s and women’s coastal coxed quads.
Clubs competing at the Offshore Championships include Falmouth Pilot Gig Club, Mayflower Offshore Rowing Club, Jersey Rowing Club, Birmingham Rowing Club, Trafford Rowing Club, and University of London Tyrian Club. There is also international representation from Sweden, Ireland and the Czech Republic.
Due to forecast weather conditions, racing will take place on Saturday and Sunday at Sandbanks Beach. On Saturday, racing will get underway at 1pm with the first heat of the men’s single scull. From 2:30pm, the finals will get underway for the women’s double scull followed shortly by the second heat of the men’s single scull. At 4pm it’s the final of the men’s double scull with racing concluding with the final of the women’s single sculls. Prize giving for all three final events will take place at 4:30pm.
>>> Crews competing at the British Rowing Offshore Championships, presented by Visit Sarasota County
On Sunday, the women’s coxed quads will race their final at 7am followed by the men’s single scull final at 07:05. The men’s coxed quad will be the final race of the regatta going off at 8:30am. Prize giving for all three finals will follow at 9am.
Heats will take place over a 4km course out to sea with the finals being raced over 6km, subject to weather conditions. Races can take between 20 and 30 minutes with crews going around six turning markers in the final.
Commenting on the event, James Foad, Honorary Chairman of the British Rowing Offshore Championships and Olympic bronze medallist who will be rowing for Itchen Imperial Rowing Club said: “The Offshore Championships are a great step forward by British Rowing in opening up our sport to a wider community and offering new challenges to those already involved in the sport. The Organising Committee have also picked a fantastic venue to hold this event. I hope you enjoy your time on Sandbanks beach as much as I will.”
You can head down to Sandbanks Beach on Sunday to catch all the action for the British Rowing Offshore Championships, presented by Visit Sarasota County.
World Coastal Rowing Championships, Thonon, France
This year’s Offshore Championships acts as a qualifying round for those wishing to go to the 2017 World Coastal Rowing Championships in Thonon, France. The deadline for entries for the World Coastal Championships has been extended by British Rowing to Wednesday, 30 August. If you are planning to take part please ensure that all entries have been emailed to the Executive Office, [email protected] by that date. The office will then check and send on to the British Rowing panel for ranking before submitting to FISA by their new closing date of 15 September. The online entry forms are available here.
