Gibraltar Rowers at European Rowing Championships

A crew selected by the Gibraltar Amateur Rowing Association has recently returned from competing in the European Rowing Championships, held for the first time in thirty one years in Poznan, Poland. The two local rowers, who competed in the light-weight double scull, were Andrew Gordon and, Caine Robles, from Calpe and Mediterranean Rowing Clubs respectively, and accompanied by Team Manager Nicky Vinales. Competing in the light-weight category meant that the rowers had their weight limited to a maximum of 70kg.

At this regatta the standard of competition from the 33 participating European Federations was very high. In their particular category the field included the current Hungarian light-weight double scull World Champions amongst others. The facilities at the Poznan, Lake Malta rowing course were put to good use as excellent weather conditions were encountered, with the exception of the first day, when it was breezy and extremely cold. This was short lived and the winds soon died down to become virtually negligible and the temperatures rising to become quite warm by the end of the weekend.

Our crew lined up at the start of their first heat, and by the regatta's half-way mark the Gibraltar scullers were still well in contention with all the other crews. After this point, racing experience and physical and technical preparation sets in and at the 2km finish line our crew was just within 10 seconds from directly qualifying to the semi-finals.

To attain a decent level of performance and preparation the team made regular trips to use the facilities both in Seville and the lake at Arcos de la Frontera, under the supervision of their coaches Stuart Bensadon and Leslie Grech. This preparation did not prove sufficient in their second row - The Repechage. This gives all non-qualifying crews a second chance to qualify for a place in the A/B finals. Again, we did not manage to get the required result to qualify for the finals. The finishing margins and time differences were only 2 seconds from making the semi-final and just 6 seconds from the Polish crew, the repechage winners.

This result should nevertheless be seen as an excellent achievement for Gibraltar, within context of who they were up against. Regardless of the result, our flag flew proud at these Championships, alongside those of the other European federations. Caine and Andrew had represented Gibraltar honourably, achieving good times and putting in a respectable and gutsy performance. 

Comparison of times in rowing is never an accurate measure of performance - no two days can ever be the same, with the effects of wind and its direction always influencing the result. Nevertheless, times are still used as a good indicator of the capabilities of a crew, and in this respect demonstrated that the Caine and Andrew partnership were capable of being right up there, close to the current world champions and eventual medal winners. This was their first real test competing together and the future looks promising for them as they continue to develop and work towards better results for next year's regatta.

Simultaneously, the European Rowing Federations' Annual Congress was also held in Poznan and attended by Nicky Vinales. Various issues were discussed, particularly on whether or how these championships could be developed further. Agreement was not reached on all of the issues and some were left pending for further discussion by international coaches and delegates at the FISA Youth Coaches Conference, which the Gibraltar Amateur Rowing Association will be hosting in Gibraltar this weekend.