Pushing boat out Bristol fashion is oarsome!
NEWCASTLE rowers hailed the inaugural Power8 Sprints as a gamechanger for the sport after men’s and women’s crews representing the city battled it out in Bristol.
The first Power8 Sprints event was the headline act on the water at the annual Bristol Harbour Festival as thousands of spectators enjoyed the thrilling action.
Eight cities - Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford - represented by men’s and women’s crews went head-to-head over 350m to be crowned champions.
Despite both Newcastle crews being knocked out in the first round, Andy Brown believes the initiative is a positive step forward for the sport to get more people involved.
The Newcastle rower said: “It is a big difference from when you are racing 2km, you have so few strokes to get through all of it - so we have to make the most of every bit.
“We had a boat which is a representation of the region, rather than just one club, which was great in terms of getting everyone together.
“In the North-East we are so used to doing regattas which are about 700m, but then having that swapped down to the really short distance, it is a great change of speed.
“It is a really good event and it gives you an opportunity to do something different and attract more people into the sport.”
British Rowing launched the new short-course competition, instead of racing over the usual 2,000m, to help broaden the appeal of rowing and bring fans closer to the action.
In the men’s event, Newcastle were beaten by rowing heavyweights Cambridge in the first round before Manchester claimed the title of Power8 Sprints champions.
The women’s eight representing Newcastle were knocked out by hosts Bristol but Newcastle rower Imogen Kench-Porter claimed the Power8 Sprints atmosphere was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
She said: “I think 2km racing can be boring for some who don’t know rowing, so this is great. It is exciting and more accessible to everyone.
“It has also brought people from all the different regions together - we have met people we did not know before and we were rowing with people we had never have rowed with.”
Olympic silver medallist Jess Eddie, part of the history-making women’s eight team in Rio 2016, was the city champion for Newcastle at the event.
She was on hand to give advice and to support the teams in the build-up and welcomed the new initiative as an exciting development.
Eddie said: “This event is going to be a really new and exciting format for rowing.”