News
Norfolkline lends support to top European oarswomen
One of Europe’s largest ferry operators is helping a major British rowing regatta increase the number of its competitors from mainland Europe and Ireland this year by offering over £3500 (€4000) worth of transport across the Channel and the Irish Sea.
Norfolkline has announced it will be supporting elite club athletes from mainland Europe and Ireland in their efforts to race at the world-famous Henley Women’s Regatta on 18-20 June; it will be offering free ferry transport for equipment and competitors to the highest-placed non-British crews in each of the open women’s eights, coxless fours and quadruple sculls events at the upcoming International Belgian Rowing Championships held in Gent on 8 May.
While a significant number of competitors make the journey from North America, Australia and New Zealand to compete each year, Henley Women’s Regatta chairman Diane Graham says she hopes this generous support from Norfolkline will encourage more elite oarswomen from Europe.
“The event has grown tremendously over the past 20 years and is now seen as the world’s premiere club regatta for women. But we want to keep expanding the reach of the event, and this assistance from Norfolkline will offset a significant cost for potential competitors and hopefully encourage them to make the journey.
“We also have an as-yet anonymous donor who has offered to pay the entry fees for these same crews, making it a very attractive package throughout. We’d like to thank these sponsors, and Sport Gent and the organisers of the Belgian Championships, for their support in helping us continue to develop the quality of racing at Henley Women’s Regatta.”
Norfolkline is an award-winning ferry company with routes between Dover and Dunkirk, Rosyth and Zeebrugge and Belfast or Dublin and Liverpool. The company currently employs more than 2,200 employees in 38 offices in 13 countries.
Henley Women’s Regatta was founded in 1988 and runs on the same reach as the Henley Royal Regatta which starts 10 days later; it has been hosted and supported by The Copas Partnership and the Copas family since its inception,
both of which have made its continuation possible.
Details about the Belgian Championships can be found at http://www.krsg.be/regatta/. Entries for Henley Women’s Regatta open on 1 May and close on 31 May; more details can be found at www.hwr.org.uk
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Conditions
* The highest placed non-British crews in each of the open W8, W4- and W4x events held on Saturday 8 May will receive the prize of cross-Channel or cross-Irish Sea transport packages to support their travel to and from Henley Women’s Regatta 18-20 June
* Only one ferry crossing package is offered per highest-placed non-British crew in each of the three events W4x, W4- and W8 held on
Saturday 8 May 2010; the crossing will be for either the English Channel for mainland Europe crews travelling to Britain for Henley Women’s Regatta 2010, or the Irish Sea for crews from Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland travelling to Britain for Henley Women’s Regatta 2010
* The crossing packages must be used for the purposes of travelling to and from Henley Women’s Regatta 2010 only
* The clubs taking up the prize packages must compete at Henley Women’s Regatta 2010 although they may enter different events than their qualifying event at the Belgian Championships on 8 May, and the crews may comprise of different oarswomen
* Crossings must be taken outward between 11 and 18 June and homebound between 20 and 27 June 2010
* Return ferry transport packages are:
1. one towing vehicle plus 10-metre boat trailer, plus one passenger car with up to five passengers for the highest placed non-British W4x crew
2. one towing vehicle plus 10-metre boat trailer, plus one passenger car with up to five passengers for the highest placed non-British W4- crew
3. one towing vehicle plus 10-metre boat trailer, plus two passenger car with up to five passengers in each for the highest placed non-British W8 crew.
* Return cross-Channel ferry transport packages will run from Dunkirk to Dover and back, and can take place at any available time of day between the dates stipulated
* Return cross-Irish Sea ferry transport will run from Belfast or Dublin to Liverpool and must take place on available daytime crossings only
* Each package only covers the items stipulated; if any upgrades or, in the case of the Irish Sea, a night crossing is required, the additional cost over and above that covered by the package must be paid by the prize-winning clubs and/or crews
* Only one ‘towing vehicle plus trailer’ crossing will be offered per winning club, irrespective of whether they are successful at being the highest-placed non-British crew in one, two or all three events at the Belgian Championships. However, all the passenger crossings will still be offered as stipulated above. Hence one club winning all three packages will receive only one ferry crossing for a towing vehicle plus trailer, but all
four passenger car crossings with up to five passengers in each.
* The prizes are as stipulated and no cash alternative is available; it is not obligatory all items in the package are used but any unused items cannot be transferred to anyone outside of the winning club’s competing crews or supporters
* Trailers must be used to transport boats only
30/04/2010