Rowing builds close family bonds

Rowing is great sport for building family bonds, according to those involved in the Junior Rowing World Championships, an Olympic test event, which opened yesterday in Shunyi district, Beijing.

"Our whole family rows," said Stephen Mann.

He competed for Australia in the 1982 World Championships and travels extensively with his wife to watch their 17-year-old daughter, Brittany, compete.

"Our passion for the sport is very strong. Once a rower, always a rower," the 49-year-old, who still competes in senior events in Australia, said.

"It helps you to become closer as a family, because you all have to work together," Brittany, who started rowing at 14, said.

She said she gets up at 4:45 am every day and trains four to six hours a day.

Rowing competitions are also unique in having special family areas, dubbed the "Kiss and Cry Zone", she said.

"It's good to see my parents in yellow and green jerseys, supporting us and keeping us going," Brittany said.

Matt Smith, executive director and secretary-general of the FISA, the International Rowing Federation, said he too felt the sense of community when he was a rower.

It is an essential part of the sport, he said, which demands families to make great sacrifices.

"It brings families together, because parents get to watch their children competing not just as individuals, but as part of a team," he told China Daily yesterday.

The Junior Rowing World Championships will feature more than 600 young people from 50 nations and regions and a record number of officials.

On the water yesterday, one Russian boat and one Chinese boat were relegated to last place in their heats after coming home at below the minimum weight.

Both will line up again today for the chance to progress in the competition.

(China Daily 08/09/2007 page6)