The Australian Rowing Team has now arrived in France ahead of the 2015 World Rowing Championships set to be held on Lac d’Aiguebelette from 30 August to 6 September.The crews that have been split between Ourense in Spain and the AIS European Training Centre in Gavirate, Italy have reunited in Chambery ahead of the event that doubles as the qualification regatta for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Australia will be aiming to qualify boats in 11 Olympic boat classes and three Paralympic boat classes, while there will be five non-Olympic boats racing too.
While athletes may qualify their respective boat for the 2016 Rio Olympic or Paralympic Games at the event in Aiguebelette, this does not guarantee them a berth in the Australian Olympic or Paralympic Rowing Teams. Athletes will be subject to selection consideration in early 2016 for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It is set to be a massive week of racing with 77 countries descending upon Lac d'Aiguebelette and a record-breaking 1300 athletes entered to compete at World Rowing's pinnacle event for 2015.
Australian Rowing Team High Performance Director and Head Coach, Chris O'Brien commented ahead of racing beginning this Sunday: "The team has been split between Italy and Spain for the last six weeks with progress being made in both camps.
"There's an added element to this year's World Championships, which is of course the Olympic and Paralympic Qualification. We believe the team is focused on their respective performances for this regatta and the outcomes will follow as a matter of course."
Kimberley Crow will be aiming to maintain her winning momentum from her recent World Rowing Cup performances to secure a second World Rowing Championships title.
Crow said: "Since World Rowing Cup III I've been based in Varese at the AIS European Training Centre with half of the Australian Rowing Team. It's been a great training block and I'm really looking forward to racing this week in Aiguebelette.
"It's great to see so many entries in the Women's Single Scull. I feel really lucky to race in such a beautiful location."
Other crews who will be hoping to medal once again at the World Championships will be 2014 medallists Sally Kehoe and Olympia Aldersey in the Women's Double Scull and Alexander Belonogoff and James McRae in the male equivalent.
The new look Men's Four will be looking to build on the positives taken from their gold medal at the Lucerne World Cup, with Josh Dunkley-Smith coming into the boat for the injured Alex Lloyd.
Meanwhile, the Men's Quadruple Scull are eyeing a spot on the medal podium this time around after making the A-Finals in both Varese and Lucerne.
David Crawshay, who won gold for Australia in the Men's Double at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, sits in the bow seat of the crew coached by John Driessen and said: "Preparations have been going well. I've been very impressed with the consistency of our training and I look forward to seeing the results of our hard work.
“This is the first time I will have raced in Aiguebelette and as venues go there’s not many like it. It has a similar feel to Bled in Slovenia where we raced back in 2011, and I’m sure all our supporters, both here and in Australia, will appreciate the sheer beauty of the venue as we race.”
Erik Horrie in the ASM1x and Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis in the TAMix2x will be looking to not only qualify their boat classes for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics next year but also to claim a third consecutive World Para-Rowing Championships titles. While the newest boat to join the para-rowing team is the LTA Mixed Coxed Four who will also be aiming for a top eight finish to qualify their boat for Rio.
Notes
Rowing Australia recently withdrew its entry into the Lightweight Men's Coxless Four due to an injury to Perry Ward. Information on this can be found here.
World Rowing’s website www.worldrowing.com will have audio commentary and live-tracker available, while later in the week for finals there will be live streaming.
In Australia, Fox Sports are set to broadcast racing from Friday to Sunday (4-6 September), please check local viewing guides.
Follow Rowing Australia’s social media channels and use the hashtags #ARTeam and #WRChamps to interact.
Australian Rowing Team for the 2015 World Rowing Championships
In brackets (Club, State - SIS/SAS scholarship at time of selection onto Senior ARTeam, Level 2B and above)
Olympic Boat Classes
Women's Single Scull
Kimberley Crow (Melbourne University BC/VIC - NTC- Canberra)
Coach: Lyall McCarthy (NTC-Canberra)
Women's Double Scull
Olympia Aldersey (Adelaide RC/SA - SASI)
Sally Kehoe (Sydney University Women's RC/QLD - SASI)
Coach: Jason Lane (SASI)
Women's Quadruple Scull
Jennifer Cleary (Mercantile RC/VIC - VIS)
Jessica Hall (Brisbane & GPS/QLD - QAS)
Kerry Hore (Huon RC/TAS - TIS)
Madeleine Edmunds (Commercial RC/QLD - QAS)
Coach: Tom Westgarth (QAS)
Sculling Reserve: Fiona Albert (Mercantile RC/QLD - VIS)
Women's Lightweight Double Scull
Alice McNamara (Melbourne University BC/VIC - VIS)
Ella Flecker (Huon RC/TAS - NTC-Canberra)
Coach: Mark Fangen-Hall (NTC-Canberra)
Men's Double Scull
Alexander Belonogoff (Sydney University BC/NSW - SASI)
James McRae (Murray Bridge RC/SA - SASI)
Coach: Rhett Ayliffe (WAIS)
Men's Quadruple Scull
Cameron Girdlestone (Sydney University BC/NSW - NSWIS)
David Crawshay (Mercantile RC/VIC - VIS)
David Watts (Swan River RC/WA - NTC-Canberra)
Karsten Forsterling (Melbourne University BC/VIC - VIS)
Coach: John Driessen (Huon RC)
Scull Reserve: Max McQueeney (Buckingham RC/TAS - NTC-Canberra)
Women's Coxless Pair
Molly Goodman (Adelaide RC/SA - NTC-Canberra)
Genevieve Horton (Mosman RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Coach: Bill Tait (VIS)
Women's Coxed Eight
Hannah Vermeersch (WARC/WA - WAIS)
Lucy Stephan (Melbourne University BC/VIC - NTC-Canberra)
Georgina Howe (Princeton/VIC)
Rosemary Popa (Banks RC/VIC)
Meaghan Volker (Buckingham RC/TAS)
Charlotte Sutherland (Mercantile RC/VIS - NTC-Canberra)
Alexandra Hagan (Swan River RC/WA - WAIS)
Katrina Bateman (Mercantile RC/VIC)
Sarah Banting - Coxwain (Mercantile RC/VIC)
Coach: Andrew Randell (ACTAS)
Sweep Reserve: Sophie Sutherland (Mercantile RC/VIC)
Men's Coxless Pair
Jack Hargreaves (Sydney University BC/NSW - NTC-Canberra)
Nicholas Wheatley (Sydney University BC/NSW - NTC-Canberra)
Coach: Mark Prater (Sydney University BC)
Men's Coxless Four
William Lockwood (Melbourne University BC/VIC - NTC-Canberra)
Joshua Dunkley-Smith (Mercantile RC/VIC - VIS)
Spencer Turrin (Sydney RC/NSW - NTC- Canberra)
Alexander Hill (Adelaide RC/SA - NTC-Canberra)
Coach: Simon Cox (NTC-Canberra)
Men's Coxed Eight
Matthew Ryan (Sydney University BC/NSW -VIS)
Joshua Booth (Melbourne University BC/VIC - VIS)
James Chapman (Sydney RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Scott Laidler (Dutton Park RC/QLD - NTC-Canberra)
Nicholas Purnell (Sydney University BC/NSW - NSWIS)
Samuel Hookway (Melbourne University BC/VIC)
Christopher Cunningham-Reid (Sydney University BC/NSW)
Fergus Pragnell (Sydney University BC/NSW - VIS)
David Webster - Coxswain (Melbourne University BC/VIC - VIS)
Coach: Tim McLaren (UTS RC)
Men's Sweep Reserves: Joshua Hicks (Sydney RC/NSW – NSWIS)
Paralympic Boat Classes
Arms and Shoulders Men's Single Scull
Erik Horrie (Sydney RC/QLD - NSWIS)
Coach: Jason Baker (Sydney RC)
Trunk and Arms Mixed Double Scull
Kathryn Ross (ANUBC/VIC - NTC-Canberra)
Gavin Bellis (Powerhouse RC/VIC - NTC-Canberra)
Coach: Gordon Marcks (NTC-Canberra)
Legs, Trunk and Arms Mixed Coxed Four
Alistair Chong (Tasmania University BC/TAS)
Jeremy McGrath (Balmain RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Kathleen Murdoch (Nepean RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Sara Waitzer (Tasmania University BC/TAS)
Josephine Burnard (Mosman RC/NSW)
Coach: Gordon Marcks (NTC-Canberra)
Non-Olympic Boats
Lightweight Women's Quadruple Scull
Laura Dunn (UTS RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Sarah Pound (UTS RC/NSW - NSWIS)
Maia Simmonds (University of WA/WA - NTC Canberra)
Georgia Miansarow (Mosman RC/NSW)
Coach: Ellen Randell (UTS RC)
Lightweight Women's Single Scull
Georgia Nesbitt (Huon RC/TAS)
Coach: Ellen Randell (UTS RC)
Lightweight Men's Quadruple Scull
Jonothon Hookway (Melbourne University BC/VIC)
James Wilson (Mercantile RC/VIC)
Tom Perry (Canberra RC/ACT)
Edward de Carvalho (UTS RC/NSW)
Coach: David England (Melbourne University BC)
Lightweight Men's Single Scull
Timothy McDonnell (Toowong RC/QLD)
Coach: Brett Crow (TIS)
Lightweight Men's Pair
Darryn Purcell (Toowong RC/QLD - TIS)
Nicholas Silcox (Toowong RC/QLD - TIS)
Coach: Brett Crow (TIS)