Rowing: Big contingent for Europe

World champion Mahe Drysdale will lead one of the biggest national rowing teams to be sent to compete in Europe in preparation for October's world championships on Waikato's Lake Karapiro.

New Zealand will compete in World Cup regattas in Slovenia, Germany and Switzerland and Britain's Henley Royal Regatta between May and July.

Further trials will be held in August to finalise the squad for the world championships which will run from October 31 to November 7.

The New Zealand team named today contains four reigning elite world champions - single sculler Drysdale, pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, lightweight duble scullers Storm Uru and Peter Taylor and lightweight single sculler Duncan Grant - and 2005 women's pair world champion, Juliette Haigh, who has teamed up with Rebecca Scown this season.

There is a change to the men's double scull with multiple under-23 world champion Joseph Sullivan replacing Matthew Trott alongside Nathan Cohen.

Trott moves into a new boat - a men's quad - with 2006 under-23 rowing champion Paul Gerritsen, Olympic pairs bronze medallist Nathan Twaddle and the promising John Storey at stroke.

Storey was a member of the under-23 world champion coxed four in 2009.

Two men's coxless fours will race in the World Cup regattas and their form will be assessed prior to final trials for the world championships.

One boat contains two of last year's under-23 coxless four world champions Jade Uru and Hamish Burson, and they are joined by David Eade who stroked the under-23 coxed four to gold last year and Sean O'Neill, who has raced for many years in New Zealand but, with dual nationality, also represented Ireland in the coxless fours at the 2008 Beijing Olympic regatta.

The second men's four contains under-23 world champions Tyson Williams and Ian Seymour, Ben Hammond - who was in the New Zealand men's eight in 2007, and former junior world champion Michael Arms from Auckland.

In addition to the new-look women's pair, there is also a new lineup in the women's double scull, with Fiona Paterson joining Anna Reymer.

The most experienced athlete in the women's squad, Paula Twining, goes back into the boat in which she won a silver medal in the 2001 world championships, the women's quad.

She is joined by Harriet Austin, bronze medal winner in 2009 in the pair, Emma Feathery and Louise Trappitt.

Former junior and under-23 single sculls world champion Emma Twigg retains her elite single sculling spot.

"The time between the final World Cup regatta in Lucerne in July and the start of the world championships on our own home water does give us the opportunity to do further testing and we will do that as there are one or two outstanding athletes who are currently carrying injuries and we may be able to make faster boats when they are recovered," Rowing New Zealand high performance manager Alan Cotter said.

SQUADS

The New Zealand elite rowing squad to compete in Europe:

Men

Single scull - Mahe Drysdale; lightweight single scull - Duncan Grant; pair - Eric Murray and Hamish Bond; double scull - Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen; lightweight double scull - Storm Uru and Peter Taylor, quad - Matthew Trott, Nathan Twaddle, Paul Gerritsen, John Storey, coxless fours - Jade Uru, Sean O'Neill, Hamish Burson, David Eade and Michael Arms, Ben Hammond, Ian Seymour, Tyson Williams.

Women

Single scull - Emma Twigg; pair - Juliette Haigh and Rebecca Scown; double scull - Anna Reymer and Fiona Paterson; Quad - Paula Twining, Louise Trappitt, Emma Feathery, Harriet Austin.

The under-23 team for the world championships at Brest, Belarus from July 22-25:

Men

Double scull - Robbie Manson, Karl Manson ; coxed four - Adam Tripp, Tufi Sele, Tobias Wehr-Candler, David Mabbott , cox Ivan Pavich; lightweight four - Graham Oberlin-Brown, James Lassche, Finnian Scott, Curtis Rapley.

Women

Light double - Lucy Strack, Julia Edward, quad scull - Laura Fischer, Ali Burnside, Lucy Spoors, Sarah Gray, eight - Kelsey Bevan, Zoe Stevenson, Hayley Hoogeveen, Kylie Wright; Fiona Bourke, Jess Loe, Genevieve Behrent, Tarsha Williams, cox - to be confirmed.

- NZPA