Dorney to stage 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup

hero__image

British Rowing is delighted to announce that it has been awarded the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup, to be hosted at the Olympic rowing venue at Eton Dorney. The World Cup will be staged with the support of the National Lottery and the assistance of UK Sport and Eton College.

FISA, the World Governing Body for Rowing, made the announcement at its annual Congress in Plovdiv on Friday, confirming that British Rowing would also have the option of hosting a World Cup event again in 2015.

The 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup will be held from 21st to 23rd June, providing another opportunity for rowing fans to cheer on some of the world’s finest rowers at one of the 2012 Games’ most iconic venues.

“Rowing was one of the standout successes of the London 2012 Olympics,” said the UK’s Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson. “Hosting a 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup regatta will enable the sport to keep up this momentum and give our top rowers another chance to shine in front of a home crowd. This event will help bring thousands of new fans and participants to the sport.”

British Rowing Chairman Di Ellis hopes that the event will see the return of the ‘Dorney Roar’, with packed crowds cheering on the GB crews. “Hosting a World Cup in 2013 at Eton Dorney will give rowing the perfect opportunity to rekindle the magical atmosphere we enjoyed at the Olympic Games,” she said. “It will provide a landmark event as a legacy for the sport where we can watch many of our 2012 medallists in action, celebrating their achievements, but also take a first look at those who may make a name for themselves in Rio”.

The World Rowing Cup was last staged at Eton Dorney in 2005, and the 2013 event will mark only the second time that the World Cup series has visited the UK.

“After the success of the London 2012 Olympic Regatta and the incredible support for our sport shown by the British public, we are very pleased to return to Eton Dorney for the second regatta of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup series,” added Denis Oswald, FISA’s President. “We share the objective of British Rowing and the UK Government to ensure a sporting legacy from those Games and are confident that the substantial investment in Eton Dorney’s infrastructure and race organisation will be of tremendous benefit to future World Rowing regattas.”

Eton Dorney played host to GB’s most successful Olympic rowing regatta of all time this summer, with four gold, two silver and three bronze medals for Team GB’s rowers.

Simon Morton, Director of Major Events at UK Sport, is looking forward to another blockbuster event at the now iconic venue. “We’re so pleased that Eton Dorney, which played host to so many golden moments during the Olympic Games, will once again welcome the best rowers in the world,” he said. “We’ve been working hard to build an incredible programme of major international sporting events for the UK to host after London 2012, and a World Rowing Cup on the Olympic course will be a great addition to this programme.

“The 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup will be the first time in eight years that the UK has hosted a leg of this prestigious series, and this has only been made possible through £450,000 of National Lottery funding.”

For more information about the Samsung World Rowing Cup, visit www.worldrowing.com/event_categories/world-rowing-cup.