Rowing: Full speed ahead for the London Olympics

The men's eight has changed personnel since coming fifth on Karapiro in November. Photo / Christine Cornege

New Zealand's Olympic rowing campaign for London next year began last December, or in early March, or yesterday. Take your pick.

Such is the way of Rowing New Zealand that the country's best were back on the water a few weeks after the world championships at Lake Karapiro in early November.

You might prefer to mark the start of serious planning down to March 4 and the naming of the elite and under-23 crews for this European season, culminating in the world champs in Bled, Slovenia, in late August-early September, which doubles as the Olympic qualifying regatta.

Or if you prefer, things got serious yesterday when the first group of rowers flew to Europe for the World Cup regatta in Hamburg next week.

Either way, with 14 Olympic categories to be raced in London next July-August, RNZ has its sights on being in at least 12.

The two where RNZ admits getting to London will be tough are the men's lightweight four - "a big stretch", high performance boss Alan Cotter admitted yesterday - and the women's eight.

There is no lightweight four going to Europe this season. New Zealand are off a torrid pace at present and time is running out.

The women's eight finished eighth overall at Karapiro but have been dangled a carrot. They are contesting the world under-23 championships in Amsterdam from July 21-24.

"That eighth was a pretty good showing and if they win gold at the under-23s, we'd send them onto the worlds to try and qualify," Cotter said.

Otherwise it's full steam ahead for the other 12 classes, in which New Zealand have three world champion crews in coxless pairs Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond and double scullers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan.

RNZ makes no bones about its Olympic ambitions. Crews are not being sent away in the hope they might sneak into London. Call it an expectation.

"That's why they've been selected," Cotter said. "We want to do as well, if not better, than last year."

New Zealand won 10 medals on Karapiro last November.

There are two prongs to RNZ's planning: make sure of qualification, and do it well. Crews who qualify several places lower than expected will face tough questions.

Olympic qualifying is about getting the boats to London, not necessarily the people sitting in them.

RNZ is particularly keen to get improvements from both the coxless four and men's eight. The four won bronze at Karapiro in November; the eight, in just their second race together, were fifth.

Personnel have been switched and the four now contains two men back from time out, James Dallinger and Carl Meyer, plus Tobias Wehr-Candler and Ian Seymour from last year's eight; Jade Uru, Hamish Burson and David Eade have moved to the eight.

"We've got a good group of about 16 young guys heading towards London that we want to get a good eight and four from," Cotter said.

What lies ahead

* The first group of New Zealand's elite rowing squad left for Europe yesterday. The second group follows on July 1.

* There are World Cup regattas in Hamburg next weekend and Lucerne on July 8-10 before the world championships in Bled, Slovenia, starting on August 28.

* Olympic Games qualifying spots are on the line in Bled and New Zealand are aiming to secure spots in at least 12 of the 14 Games classes.

* david.leggat@nzherald.co.nz