“READY SET ROW!!!” THE OLYMPIC ROWING CHAMPIONSHIP WILL RETURN TO BENIARRÉS RESERVOIR THIS SATURDAY, 28TH JANUARY

The Beniarrés Reservoir, located in the province of Alicante, will host the Regional Long Distance Olympic Rowing Championship this Saturday, the 28^{th of} January. The event is organised by the Rowing Federation of the Valencian Community and is supported and sponsored by SUMA Gestión Tributaria. More than seventy athletes, belonging to eleven different clubs, are due to compete in tomorrow’s event commencing at 10:30 in the morning in the idyllic surroundings of this 268-hectare reservoir. Held in a closed lagoon, the reservoir not only provides a scenic location for the event but has optimum conditions for rowing due to the calmness and stability of the water.

The groups are started within one-minute intervals of each other to improve the accuracy and reduce congestion. However, all participants must cover 5,000 metres in distance. The boats set off from the starting line and will have to overcome three tacks before heading towards the finish. The cadet, junior and senior categories will compete in single and double sculls either individually or in pairs. The youngest competitors will open the regatta, with a total of twenty individual representatives and four in the double sculls. This will be followed by the cadet group, which consist of fifteen boats in the skiff category and fourteen in the doubles. In all categories and styles there is male and female participation, and the final classification will be established by times.

The event is practised on a boat with specific dimensions exceeding seven metres in length. The boats contain typical moveable benches requiring a great deal of physical, synchronised strength to propel the boat forward. The eleven clubs participating in the Rowing Championship are ‘Club Deportivo de Mar Clot de L’Illot El Campello’, ‘Club Remo Torrevieja’, ‘Club Náutico Santa Pola’, ‘Real Club Náutico Calpe’, ‘Real Club Náutico Gandía’, ‘Real Club Náutico Torrevieja’, ‘Club Remo Torrevieja’, ‘Real Club Náutico Valencia’, ‘Real Club Regatas Alicante’, ‘Club Náutico Altea’ and ‘Club Náutico Alicante Costa Blanca’.

There will be various viewing platforms along the route allowing the public to enjoy the regatta in one of the most stunning water landscapes in the Region of Valencia. So, why not escape the hustle and bustle of city life this weekend and witness what promises to be an exciting event in the Spanish sunshine.

Report by Imogen Hockings