University of Washington loss may be University of Waikato win
The University of Washington Crew named today, to take on the University of Waikato for the Harry Mahon Memorial Trophy in the Great Race, is a mixture of national representative and internationally experienced rowers.
But unfortunately all of that experience may be weakened by the potential loss of their captain Ante Kusurin.
In 2002 the Cambridge crew lost their top oarsman, James Livingston, to an injury suffered while playing touch rugby the day the English visitors arrived in New Zealand. That year The University of Waikato went on to win the Great Race.
The University of Washington captain may not even make it off the plane in NZ unless a number of events around the world fall into place over the next two weeks.
Ante is currently in Zagreb, Croatia, preparing for the World Rowing Championships in Japan. He departs for Japan on Friday 19 August.
Information received from the New Zealand Immigration Service shows that Croatia is regarded a high-risk country and as such the visa process is more rigorous. Ante must lodge the visitor's visa application with The Hague in the Netherlands. From there the application will most likely be transferred to Wellington, New Zealand, for processing. Once/if approved, the application will be electronically transferred to Tokyo, where he will have the visa issued before he can board a flight to NZ.
So will Ante make it? At this stage no body knows, but event spokesman Rob Hamill believes, 'If Ante doesn't come out it will be a huge blow for the University of Washington crew, losing their World Championship representative captain.
The University of Washington coach Bob Ernst has named a young and strong crew for their New Zealand visit.
Hamill confesses, 'The University of Washington has been somewhat of an unknown quantity for us, as they do not have the same profile in New Zealand as the likes of Cambridge and Oxford. However, our research shows The University of Washington attracts young rowers from around the world and the named crew includes rowers from America, Canada, Australia and Croatia.'
'The high quality rowing programme offered at Washington and the proud history of consistently being rated in the top 5 crews in the American intercollegiate competition, helps to attract some outstanding rowers. People who know the American rowing scene have forewarned us not to underestimate the ability of our guests.' says Hamill.
The University of Washington crew includes seven oarsmen over 1.93m (6ft 4in) and two at 1.98 (6ft 6in) inches tall, giving the visitor a definite height advantage.
The Great Race is the final race on an exciting international rowing card including the Trans Tasman challenge on Saturday 10th September. Entertainment begins at 10am with the first international starting at 12.30pm.