Ashburton’s Veronica Wall is part of the New Zealand team taking part in the Under-23 Rowing World Championships in America this week. Photo Igor MeijerAshburton rower Veronica Wall’s latest bid for world glory is about to get under way in the USA.

Wall and the rest of New Zealand’s under-23 rowing team are in Sarasota-Bradenton, in Florida, for the 2019 World Rowing Under-23 Championships which will get under way on Wednesday (US time) and run through until July 28.

It’s a massive regatta, with nearly 700 rowers from a total of 53 nations taking part, with Wall set to line up in the women’s quad event.

Wall, who rows out of both the Ashburton Rowing Club and the Southern RPC, will join Kathryn Glen (Avon Rowing Club, Southern RPC), Katie Lush (Waikato Rowing Club, Waikato RPC) and Laura Glen (Avon Rowing Club, Southern RPC) to form the women’s quad, which is coached by Matt Cameron.

The regatta is taking place on Florida’s West Coast, just one hour south of Tampa and two hours from Orlando, at Nathan Benderson Park, a community park which provides public access to a picturesque lake.

It was the venue that hosted a spectacular and successful 2017 World Rowing Championships, which was attended by 921 athletes from 68 countries.

The biggest team lining up for a shot at glory at this latest regatta on the lake is, not surprisingly the home team, the United States.

They have an entry in all 22 boat classes, while Germany have boats in 21, followed by Great Britain with 14 boats entered.

New Zealand’s team includes Jack Lopas and Ollie Maclean in the men’s double scull, two rowers who are actually based in the USA.

For Wall, the regatta will be her first shot at under-23 world titles, but she is no stranger to competing on the world stage, having competed at the World Rowing Junior Championships in the past.

This year’s World Rowing Junior Championships are being held in Japan from August 7 to 11, with the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria from August 25 to September 1.

For anyone wanting to keep up with the progress of Wall and her team mates, live video streaming will be available on  www.worldrowing.com.

Live audio commentary and the live race tracker will also be available for all races on the website.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 24 July 2019