Month: May 2017

Eric Murray retires from rowing

Eric Murray, one half of New Zealand’s unbeatable men’s pair, announced his retirement from elite rowing last month. Chief reasons for this decision were being able to spend more time with his family, and the effect of being the number one favourite in every race for such a long time. Together with rowing partner Hamish Bond, Murray hasn’t lost a single race since 2009, including winning two Olympic gold medals and six World Rowing Championship titles. In 2012, one month before they became Olympic champions for the first time, Murray and Bond competed at the Koninklijke – Holland Beker and won their race in 06:17.87.

http://www.worldrowing.com/news/era-ends-with-eric-murray-retirement

Lightweight rowing at the KHB

In February FISA decided to comply with the wishes of the IOC to bring more balance to the ratio of female and male rowers at the next Olympic games in Tokyo in 2020. Sadly, this decision meant the end for the lightweight men’s four in the Olympic programme. Since then, many currently active lightweight rowers have had to re-evaluate their Olympic dreams.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSOhP42Fcji/

Some have decided to make the switch to the heavyweight category, like Bjorn van den Ende, who rowed the Olympic LM4- in London and Rio and is now training in the Dutch heavyweight selection. However, Lightweight rowing is far from dead, as it is still strongly represented at national and international regattas. Last year, the Koninklijke – Holland Beker had fifteen lightweight categories, including the lightweight men’s four (which is still a World Championships event) and events like the lightweight men’s eight, and the lightweight women’s single sculls and quadruple sculls.

‘Schrappen lichte vier zat er aan te komen’

Official kick-off at Skøll

Last Tuesday the official kick-off for the Aegon Koninklijke-Holland Beker took place at the Amsterdam student rowing club Skøll. Every year Skøll organises the Holland Beker regatta together with the Rotterdam rowing club De Maas and the Koninklijke rowing club from Muiden. Preparations for the event have already started as soon as the event was over last year, but the official kick-off was meant to start recruiting volunteers that will help at the event.

To organise a big event like the Holland Beker regatta, we need lots and lots of volunteers to help us prepare food and drinks, help with the competitors, the driving grand-stand, handing prices to the winners and so much more. Skøll provides us with most of the volunteers, but do you feel like helping out and have a great weekend? You can contact us at info@hollandbeker.nl

See you the 24th and 25th of June!

Aegon Koninklijke- Holland Beker regatta 2017

This year the Aegon Koninklijke-Holland Beker regatta will be held at the Bosbaan, next to the Amsterdam forest. The biggest regatta of the Netherlands will take place in the weekend of the 24th and 25th of June and lots of great races are to be expected! Every year an increasing number of visitors and rowers are coming to Amsterdam to enjoy the sunny weather, watch terrific races and relax alongside the water.

Last year Mahe Drysdale from New-Zealand won the Holland Beker trophy and that same year he also won the Olympic title in Rio. This year he will not be racing at the regatta, but maybe he will cheer for some of the talented new rowers that will do their best to win the trophy. The weather has been great the past 5 years and it is expected to be a warm and sunny day again. So join us at the regatta the weekend of the 24th and 25th of June!