Twin turbo beef up Waikato crew for Great Race.
The star studded University of Waikato women's rowing eight was announced today.
Athens Olympic Gold medalists Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell will be the University of Waikato's not so secret weapon when they join a star studded line-up to race Australia on September 10th in the lead up to the Gallagher Great Race.
The twins are joined by fellow Olympians, Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles. Haigh and Coles recently went unbeaten in the coxless pairs in the World Cup regatta series in Europe.
Also representing the University of Waikato is New Zealand's most recent World Champion, Emma Twigg, who is back from her incredible gold medal performance in the single sculls event at the World Junior rowing champs.
Other members of the crew are NZ Under 23 double sculls representatives, Fiona Patterson and Jaime Nielsen, and crew captain Paula Twining.
Twining, who herself was a silver medalist at the 2001 World Rowing Champs in the quad with the twins and is the current world number 3 on the indoor rowing machine for 2000 metres, believes she has a crew that will be difficult to beat.
"The race is most certainly going to be a big one for us. The Australian women's eight were Olympic finalists in Athens and are coming here straight after the World Champs in Japan. River racing is quite different to lake racing and relies heavily on having a strong crew and a coxswain who can steer a quality course. I'm confident that we have both!"
Candice Bardsley will cox the crew. Bardsley is a New Zealand University rep with an unbeaten record. She has dubbed the race as being one of her biggest challenges yet.
"The tactical challenge of this year's race will be far greater than the previous three years with two exceptionally strong women's eights looking to dominate each other to win the Bryan Gould Cup. I am ready for the challenge, and am excited to be coxing some of the best oarswomen in the country and World. Race day can't roll around fast enough."
Erin Tolhurst of the NZ Rowing Academy is the reserve.
Rowing New Zealand's head coach, Richard Tonks is coaching the University women's crew, bringing with him an enormous wealth of knowledge and international racing experience.
"We are lucky to have Dick on board. If anyone is going to be able to pull this crew together in such a small amount of time, he is", Twining said.
As with the men's crew, the women's eight will only have a few days to train together, as the Evers-Swindell's, Coles and Haigh return from the 2005 FISA World Championships in Japan less than a week before race day.
The University of Waikato Women versus Australia Women is set to race at 12:30pm on the Waikato River Great Race course, from Ann Street to Grantham Street. The Women's race caps off an impressive lineup of international competition for Saturday 10th September, joining the New Zealand versus Australia men's race and the Great Race between The University of Waikato and The University of Washington.
An indication of what we may expect to see on the water will be given at the SBS Indoor Rowing competition at the Sky Riverside Lanes on Thursday 8th September from 7:00pm. The various crews will take each other on over a 750 meter course, in a high energy, up close and personal, head to head battle.