British Rowing Launches New Sprint Event
British Rowing has announced a new sprint rowing event, Power8 Sprints.
The first ever Power8 Sprints event will be held in Bristol on Sunday, 22nd July and will be the headline act on the water at the annual Bristol Harbour Festival.
The sprint event will see teams from eight cities – Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford – battle it out, head-to-head over 350m in a bid to be crowned Power8 Sprints champions.
The Power8 Sprints event will see men’s and women’s teams racing in eights, the blue riband events at the Olympic Games, with the city teams formed from top club rowers from across the country.
Each city crew will race in a colour, allowing fans to get behind the team of their choice. Fans will be able to get to know the personalities in the boats through special behind-the-scenes profiles shot in the build-up to and during the event. Specialist technology will also be used during the races to bring fans closer to the action as it unfolds on the water.
In a change from tradition 2,000m rowing regattas, spectators lining the harbourside in Bristol will be able to watch all the action, from the start line to the finish line, all from the same spot.
British Rowing has been developing Power8 Sprints in partnership with Sunset+Vine, an independent sports production company, to create a never-seen-before TV experience for rowing. Sunset+Vine is supporting British Rowing in conversations with a number of broadcasters to bring all the action from the event live into homes across the country, through TV coverage and online.
Andy Parkinson, CEO of British Rowing, said: “This is another hugely exciting moment for rowing in England. We hope to bring rowing to sports fans like they’ve never experienced before in the heart of cities across the country. Short, fast, and dramatic, Power8 Sprints will entertain fans and showcase this awesome sport to a broader audience. It’s going to be great to watch for any sports fan.
Sarah Greene, Executive Producer at Sunset+Vine, said: “We are delighted to be working with British Rowing on this fantastic new rowing event. We are passionate about exciting, competitive, head-to-head sporting endeavour and Power8 Sprints, in front of an enthusiastic and engaged Bristol audience, is certainly shaping up to be a great start to this new format.”
Power8 Sprints is part of British Rowing’s strategy to harness new formats to grow and develop the sport. In its first year, Power8 Sprints will stage one event in Bristol, with plans for it to grow to a three event sprint series in 2019.
