Four WAIS Rowers Selected for World Championships

Four Western Australian Institute of Sport rowing scholarship holders have today been confirmed onto the Australian Rowing Team for the 2014 Rowing World Championships in Amsterdam from August 24-31.

Olympians Hannah Vermeersch and Alex Hagan will be joined on the Australian team by 2013 World Championship representatives Perry Ward and Maia Simmonds.

The announcements were made as Rowing Australia also released squad lists for World Cups 2 and 3 which will serve as warm-up events for this year’s world championships.

WA’s country girls will again reprise their roles in the women’s eight squad that saw the duo make their Olympic debuts at the 2012 London Games. Vermeersch, hailing from Esperance and Hagan from Bunbury will first compete in World Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland before venturing to the Netherlands for this year’s peak event.

Perry Ward will contest the same competition path, in the men’s lightweight double scull. Ward will head to Amsterdam via Lucerne, where he will compete alongside New South Welshman Edward de Cavalho.

Maia Simmonds will compete in both World Cups 2 and 3, having recently won gold at the first round of the World Cup series in Sydney.

Simmonds will contest the women’s lightweight single scull in World Cup 2 at France’s Aiguebelette course, before joining her fellow Australian teammates in Lucerne. Simmonds will then compete in the women’s lightweight quadruple scull at World Championships, teaming with Hannah Every-Hall, Sarah Pound and Laura Dunn.

Speaking on the announcements, Australian Rowing Team High Performance Director, Chris O’Brien said: “The National Selection Trials over the last two weeks here in Sydney have shown us the great depth of talent we have available to us as selectors.

“Competition for places in the Senior A, U23 and U21 teams has been fierce and I congratulate all of those who have been selected to represent Australia at home and abroad for the upcoming season.

“After a strong performance in the first round of the World Rowing Cup, held here in Australia, we are hopeful of continued success from the Australian Rowing Team in the remaining World Rowing Cups as well as the World Rowing Championships later this year.