Challenge accepted! Rowing heavyweights to come face to face as race fever heats up

25 Oct 2011
With the 2011 Australian Boat Race just days away, some of the best rowers in the country will face off at an official pre-race weigh-in at the University of Melbourne on Friday.

The 2011 Australian Boat Race Weigh-In event will pit teams from the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney together in an age-old tradition mirroring the rowing history and heritage between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The teams will meet ahead of Sunday’s big showdown on the Yarra, showcasing the combined strength and endurance of the squads, and celebrating the spirit of sportsmanship and competition.

Director of Rowing and Coach of the Melbourne University Boat Club, Alex Henshilwood said the race was a symbol of the oldest sporting rivalry in Australian rowing history.

"Despite a tradition that dates back to 1860, this is the first time that this match racing format has come to Melbourne and the course will offer spectacular views of Australia’s best student oarsmen and women as they race through the city. It will be a terrific spectacle and the beginning of a brand new tradition further cementing Melbourne as the sporting capital of Australia," he said.

"Rowing has always been a gracious sport, with a training rigour that is respected for its professionalism at the highest level. The university teams are well-acquainted, with great mutual respect for the effort and discipline that each member has put into training for the race."

The Australian Boat Race has become an annual event, held on the Yarra River and Sydney Harbour on alternating years. The race - a Men’s eights and Women’s eights rowing along a 4.2 kilometre course - will feature some of Australia’s leading rowers including James Marburg and Cameron McKenzie-McHarg who together won the Silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, Alice McNamara, a member of the crew that won the World Cup at Lucerne in 2010 and also winner of the Empire State Building Run Up this year and Kim Crow, who won Silver at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships.

Event details:

What: The 2011 Australian Boat Race, Official Weigh-In
Date: Friday 28 October
Time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Venue: The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus (Main Lawn)

All media are welcome to attend.