WAIS Rowers Prepare for Australian Rowing Championships

WAIS rowing athletes are in the final stages of preparation for next week’s Australian Rowing Championships, which are being held at Tasmania’s Lake Barrington.

WAIS will be represented by up to 21 junior and senior athletes in Tasmania, with the Championships starting next Monday 2 March and culminating with the Interstate Regatta on Sunday 8 March.

The WAIS squad will also be joined by WAIS Rowing Performance Manager Antonio Maurogiovanni and Senior Coach Jason Lane.

Maurogiovanni – who last year coached the Australian men’s lightweight four at the Beijing Olympics – is confident that the WAIS squad is well prepared for the regatta and can show some good form in the first major competition of 2009.

“I would expect our athletes to be competitive,” said Maurogiovanni. “In the first year after an Olympic campaign it is difficult to know the level of commitment (with many rowers taking breaks), especially from senior rowers, it is an uncertain time, but I think it can be viewed as an opportunity to test levels.”

Victorian athlete David Crawshay – who won gold with Scott Brennan in the men’s double scull in Beijing – agreed that ahead of the Nationals it is a case of reassessing and finding motivation.

“Next week will be a good indicator of where I stand in relation to selection,” Crawshay said. “I have been training pretty well and feel in good physical shape, but I will just have to see if my motivation is where it should be to compete internationally,” he was quoted as saying.

Traditionally, the first year of an Olympic cycle has proved a good opportunity for the next generation of rowers to stake their claims and forge a reputation out of the ashes of absent or retired athletes. Maurogiovanni is hopeful some of younger contingent of WAIS athletes are ready to do just that.

“It is a very good opportunity for the young to show performance,” he said. “They need to take this very seriously.”

“It is from these results that selectors choose squads for Senior, U23 and Junior competitions and also form plans for boat positions,” Maurogiovanni said.

Jeremy Stevenson is planning an assault on the men’s single scull after concentrating his efforts for the last four years on the men’s eight boat. Crawshay is excited by the prospect of seeing sweep rowers try their hand at the scull.

“Australian sculling has been going from strength to strength and the quality of this year’s field is testament to that,” Crawshay said. “It’s great to see some of the sweep rowers like Loch and Stevenson coming across to sculling, and it has only made the competition even tougher.”