GB Rowing And Siemens Put Nation On Trial

GB Rowing and Siemens have teamed up to put the nation through an Olympic selection test and raise money for charity in February, with the public pitted against each other and against the clock.

The Nation on Trial initiative, sponsored by the GB Rowing Team’s high-performance partner Siemens, marks the build-up to the GB Rowing Team’s Senior Trials in March by inviting the public to get fit, get on a rowing machine and take their own 2km trial.

All participants in The Nation on Trial will be entered into a prize draw to win a behind-the-scenes trip to the Senior Trials, at the Olympic rowing venue, Eton Dorney, and are encouraged to raise money for the event’s charity partner The Stroke Association by getting sponsored to complete a training plan or hit a target.

‘The trials are something the rowers train for and work towards all winter,’ said Sir Matthew Pinsent, the four-times Olympic rowing gold medallist who won Olympic gold in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 and had to go through the trials every year of his GB career. 

‘There is a great satisfaction in feeling yourself getting fitter and stronger and then proving it in a race or a trial, competing against friends or colleagues. The Nation on Trial is a great opportunity for the public to get a feel for what the GB rowers are going through as they battle for selection for the 2012 season.’