KEY POINTS:
Long bus rides and some quirky rules apart, it's business as usual for the New Zealand Olympic rowers who are fully aware of the pressure to achieve in Beijing.
The 16-strong team who should contribute the biggest chunk to New Zealand's medal haul at these Games pronounced themselves satisfied with their progress since arriving last week.
With heats at the Shunyi venue starting on Saturday, the buildup has been far smoother than four years ago at Athens when weeds and strong wind threatened to turn the regatta into a farce.
An exception to the smooth flow is overbearing Chinese officials, who were politely called "exuberant" by single sculler Mahe Drysdale.
Officials have allocated specific training lanes to each class, meaning some lanes can be crowded and others empty at any given time. Transgressors trying to use a vacant lane are quickly "red-flagged".
"It's a little bit quirky," high performance manager Andrew Matheson told NZPA.
"Once we get into racing proper, that's when the (world body) FISA officials start taking those slots.
"Now you just see bureaucracy getting in the way of some of what we do but there are no major dramas at all."
The next key step for the 16-strong fleet of rowers is to up sticks from the Olympic Village tomorrow and move to their hotel based next to the venue.
They have been frustrated at their hour-long bus trip each way from the village, particularly after being told the journey would take half the time.
"It's certainly not what we want to be doing on race day," Matheson said.
"Being within five minutes of the rowing course will be worth every cent. We'll gear into a more rowing team focus."
New Zealand nearly missed out on securing the hotel after booking it last year.
It was cancelled without their knowledge by Chinese authorities who later returned the rooms to several angry international rowing teams.
Matheson was pleased with all logistics, most of which had been tested by New Zealand officials during the junior world championships here a year ago.
"A lot of the things we thought we'd have headaches with are not there," Matheson said.
"We're slightly relieved...I can sleep well at night."
A medal target hadn't been set even though at least six of the eight crews are potential podium climbers.
Drysdale is a three-time single sculls world champion and the men's four of Carl Meyer, Eric Murray, James Dallinger and Hamish Bond are world champions.
Double scullers Rob Waddell and Nathan Cohen won at both their World Cups this year and Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell are defending Olympic champions.
In the former world champion category are the men's and women's pairs of Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater, and Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh.
"The expectations are probably harder on ourselves than any external pressure," Matheson said.
"The team hasn't changed pace with what they're doing. It's a very very experienced group and to a certain degree we're in our own little bubble as a rowing team.
"The key is to not look at any medal tables, that will take care of itself."
They will treat the next week and a half like a typical World Cup campaign and not veer too far from the formula that they know works.
"The day they got in, the first thing everyone did was get in the boats and get going.
"They always keep their feet on the ground, that's how we do things."
- NZPA
