Rowing: Rowing NZ plan for smooth ride

There were 37 tonnes of dead fish removed from Rio's Olympic rowing venue. Photo / AP

Portuguese lessons for staff, dealing with Brazilian real estate companies and literally testing the waters are among steps being taken by Rowing New Zealand to achieve their Olympic ambitions next year in Rio de Janeiro.

The organisation want to minimise surprises or disruptions before entering a maximum 14 crews for the first time, but they will be well placed to do it. Rowing New Zealand are budgeted to receive $19.6 million of taxpayer money across the Olympic cycle, the most of any national sporting organisation.

Those funds come with the responsibility of delivering the most Games medals and building on their 2014 performance as the world's most successful rowing nation.

However, the Rio venue has posed problems. This month, Reuters reported more than 60 people from the city's sanitation department removed 37 tonnes of dead fish from the water. They will continue to do that ahead of August's world junior championships — the regatta doubles as the sport's Olympic test event, in which New Zealand has entered five crews.

"We've sent [high performance manager] Alan Cotter, [high performance operations manager] Lisa Holton and [board member and 2012 Olympic gold medallist] Nathan Cohen across for site visits," RNZ chief executive Simon Peterson said.

"We're happy with the environment and I'm pleased to announce after a review of Lisa's Portuguese classes she can order a cup of coffee," Peterson quipped. "From an athlete point-of-view, Nathan was comfortable rowing on the lagoon. He reported back on conditions, including details on the prevailing winds. Media reports on the fish haven't overly concerned us because the test event, along with New Zealand and International Olympic Committee visits, should sort out any problems.

"We're also sending eight athletes, two coaches and the team manager after the world championships."

The organisation also conduct quarterly Rio planning meetings among senior management, athlete representatives Mahe Drysdale and Rebecca Scown, team manager Jan Taylor and an NZOC representative.

Further elements to their Olympic strategy include:

The securing of an athlete 'day house' which will be leased for the Games' duration. Peterson says it is "16 minutes' walk from the course". That means athletes training twice a day have to travel only half as much in what is forecast to be congested city traffic.

• Vehicle drivers have been vetted and secured.

• The same Waikato-based caterers who cooked for the team in London have been recruited.

• Meat will be sourced and shipped across to Brazil.

• Possible benefactors have been approached about helping to fund the shipment of boats from New Zealand to Europe to South America. The addition of eights adds significant costs.

Peterson said they made a successful business case to their board to invest in the eights until the 2020 Tokyo Games.

"That is an important strategic decision because it says to younger athletes there will be opportunities. If you don't have those boats, you risk losing a generation of athletes.

"The big message to us came with last year's under-23 world championships results. The team topped the medal tally for the first time. Announcing [a maximum] 14 boats, and promoting a number of those athletes into the elite programme this year, indicates the future's bright. The reality is that after Rio, there's likely to be retirements from the smaller boats, which will open the way for a younger generation."