ORGANIZERS OF ASIAN ROWING U19&U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS - INTERVIEW

SUI: Asian youth rowing helps to identify Shenyang as "capital of rowing in China"

Sat 14 Sept

SHENYANG - The successful hosting of the Asian Rowing U19&U23 Championships will greatly help Shenyang to identify itself as "Capital of Rowing in China", said an official of the organizing committee here on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview, Sui Qingyang, member of the competition committee of the championships said that "the Asian Youth Championships is the biggest, highest and most professional international rowing tournament that has ever been hosted in Shenyang after rowing competitions was first held in the city six years ago."

The four-competition-day championships has attracted a total of 280 athletes and 96 managers and coaches from 19 countries and regions, the largest ever in the history of the Asian Rowing Federation since its founding in 1982. They have been vying for the 20 gold medals on offer.

During the championships which started on Wednesday, Sui, also general manager of the Shenyang International Rowing Center, has led her team to provide all-round services after thorough preparations, including food, accommodation, transportation and venue preparation for athletes, coaches and officials.

"With the successful hosting of the championships, we hope to shape the name card of 'Capital of Rowing in China' for Shenyang," said Sui.

Based on the Hun River, a perfect venue for still water sports such as rowing with its high-quality water and mild wind, Sui guided her team to run the rowing competitions annually on the river in cooperation with the municipal sports bureau, initiating the Shenyang International Rowing Open in 2018.

"The annual Rowing Open has been running for six years, which has brought together athletes from around the world and attracted teenagers, rowing clubs, universities, enterprises and other rowing lovers as a full-scale competition," said Sui, a pioneering master to help identify Shenyang with the new name card.

"Rowing is a great platform to combine sports with education," Sui said, adding that Shenyang is the front runner in China to promote the sport among the young people as regular rowing activities have been conducted for more than 40,000 students in some 40 primary and secondary schools in the city.

"We have build up a rowing population with great potential in the city," said Sui, explaining that "professional teaching system has been set up to explore measures that suitable for students for the development of the sport, including specail classes and rowing teams on campus." 

Sui also hoped that more international competitions will select Shenyang as the hosts in the future after the successful hosting of the Championships which will conclude in the afternoon.

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