CMMB VISION 2nd Harbour Rowing Regatta – Coastal Rowing Racing in the City
The 2nd Harbour Regatta, title sponsored by CMMB VISION, was held today (18 March) in Victoria Harbour just off the Wan Chai waterfront.
This was the second memorable year of what will become an annual event, demonstrating the suitability of the harbour waters for sport and recreation. This year’s racing saw over 170 participants involving a range of club teams from five local and overseas schools teams, seven university clubs, seven local clubs and two visiting rowing clubs from China battling it out over a 600 metre sprint course designed to test the skills of the rowers. The start and finish lines were similar to those planned for the 2019 World Rowing Coastal Championships (WRCC) in November next year.
The attraction of racing in the harbour drew some famous rowers, including HO Kim Fai, Olympian and Hong Kong’s first gold medallist at the 1st East Asian Games, ex-Hong Kong Squad Members, TANG Tsz Hau and NG Ka Ho, Silver Medallist in 2012 Asia Cup and Alex BIDLAKE gold medallist at the 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta, also competing was the President of the Asian Rowing Federation, Mr. WANG Shi also demonstrating his strong personal support for the development of coastal rowing in Asia and in Hong Kong. For the Open Double Sculls event, the winning team Kelvin CHU and Julius HIRTZBERGER are come from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Kelvin was the finalist in the 1st Asian Rowing Coastal Championships and Julius is the ex-Austrian National Rowing Team member.
Coastal rowing gives an opportunity for everyone to enjoy the natural environment of Hong Kong’s beautiful coastlines and surrounding waters while developing an active and healthy lifestyle. It is a lifelong sport for all. The Harbour Regatta is one of the lead-up events for the 2019 WRCC. The Hong Kong, China Rowing Association is determined to see a long-term legacy for the community from the organisation of the 2019 WRCC, while the Harbour Regatta will be one of these.
A Medal Presentation Ceremony was held at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club after racing.