Rowing: Venue ready to rock and row

Tom Mayo. Photo / Dean Purcell

As a middle distance runner with Commonwealth Games and world championship appearances on his CV, Tom Mayo knows all about the importance of timing.

Get it right and you're in business. Blow it and you're in the cactus.

So as chief executive of the world rowing championship's organising committee, Mayo is delighted planning is on target for the October 30-November 7 event on Lake Karapiro.

It will be the country's biggest international sports event since the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

The only building left to be completed is the new finish tower. It is expected to be ready with a month to spare. That makes it tight but do-able.

"All the other projects have come in early. That's a good mindset to be in," Mayo said yesterday.

The organising committee have been conscious of producing an event which is more than merely on-water racing. There is a desire to provide a range of entertainment in breaks between the core activity on the lake, adding to the aim of making it a week to remember.

The champs have been brought forward a day to allow for an opening ceremony. That will include a flotilla of water craft with athletes and celebrities marking the history of the sport and New Zealand's success in it.

Prominent New Zealand music acts, including Opshop, who will perform at the opening, Gin Wigmore, the Lady Killers and Autozamm will perform during the championships; the Melbourne Cup will be screened live at the course on November 2, the second day of heats.

More than 20,000 tickets have been sold, including a large chunk of week-long passes. The target is about 50,000.

The worlds in Poland last year sold about 16,000, Munich and Eton in 2007 and 2006 respectively cleared about 40,000.

"Despite the recession we've made a tremendous start," Mayo said. "That means we've been able to focus on creating an amazing party around the rowing competition. There will be something for everyone off the water."

That said, Mayo, who ran for Britain in his athletic career, is careful to ensure the priorities remain in the right order. "There is a balance to be struck, and it's patronising to say it's entertainment with sport on the side." he added.

Teams start arriving from the second week of October and the logistics are substantial, rather like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with all the components needing to fit for a workable arrangement. The key is making it all seem a seamless operation.

About 700 athletes from more than 50 countries will take part, with 1300 officials, adding up to at least 18,000 bed nights in the region.

They will eat through about 47 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, using 30 buses to ferry athletes to the venue.

Britain, with 80 athletes and a total of 120 in their group, are the biggest contingent. The United States, with a total of 112 people, aren't far behind.

Teams can get on the water from October 16. That is a key time for the overseas crews, working out the variables of the Karapiro course, assessing wind directions and the difference in lane conditions.

"They want to get a feel for what the lake is like, the kinks and quirks about the venue," Mayo added.

"The number of teams and their complexities can become quite mind-boggling but we want teams to get here, get comfortable, have good food, because if the athletes are comfortable it means good competition."

New Zealand's team is to be named after a series of trials next month.