NATIONAL JUNIOR INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS IS BORN!

London Youth Rowing ("LYR") and The Boat Race Company Ltd announce the creation of the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships ("NJIRC"), hosted by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The Championships will be held on 28 March 2007 at the Hammersmith Town Hall in London.

The Championships are open to anyone in the country aged 12 to 18. The event will become an important date on the junior indoor rowing calendar alongside regional events and the British Indoor Rowing Championships, held in Birmingham each year in November.

Concept 2 and LYR will stage the event with participants from across the country competing in individual and team events. The format will follow the Amateur Rowing Association year group distances with a Sprint Relay and a Boat Race Relay over 6780 metres - The Boat Race distance. It is going to be a fantastic day for everyone. There will be Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for the winners of each category, and special prizes including Concept 2 indoor rowing machines and the opportunity to follow The Boat Race in a launch on Race day, 7 April - a prize that money just can't buy.

If you are up to the challenge and want to compete in the first-ever national championship visit www.londonyouthrowing.com and click the NJIRC for full details and entry forms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
London Youth Rowing: Matt Rostron on (0207) 511 2211 or +44(0)7949 023435

The Boat Race Press Office: Caroline Searle or Bryn Vaile on (01225) 383518 or (07831)755351

The NJIRC is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Ashurst, Sponsor of the NJIRC and the Man Group, Founding Sponsor to LYR and through the support of The Boat Race Company Ltd, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Concept 2, the Amateur Rowing Association and the many friends, volunteers and supporters of LYR and the Boat Race.

Notes to Editors:

London Youth Rowing. London Youth Rowing ("LYR") is a major sports initiative which brings together the resources of the Federation of London Youth Clubs ("London Youth") and the Royal Albert Dock Trust ("RADT") LYR operates a community based youth rowing programme, currently based in East London, the first such activity with plans to operate across the whole of Greater London. London Youth and the RADT are independent charities with a common focus on providing activities for young people in London. London Youth Rowing has three core activities: rowing programmes for schools and youth clubs, indoor rowing as a sport for young people in London and adaptive rowing programmes for young people with disabilities.

The programme works closely with and has the full support of the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) and Concept 2. London Youth Rowing aims to increase the number of young people exposed to the sport of rowing (indoor and water-based), and in particular, expand its appeal to those from less advantaged backgrounds within the inner city. By combining the resources of local youth clubs, schools, and specialist rowing centres, LYR provides a first exposure for many with no prior experience in the sport. By providing high standards of coaching and encouragement the initiative offers recreational rowing as well as specific programmes for those capable of competing at national and international levels. www.londonyouthrowing.com

The Boat Race. The Boat Race, the annual rowing contest between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, began in 1829. It became an annual event (apart from suspension in times of War) in 1856. The 2007 Race will be the 153rd in the Series and will take place on Saturday APRIL 7th, sponsored by Xchanging. Cambridge have won 78 times and Oxford 73. The Race, one of Britain's iconic sporting events, is organised by The Boat Race Company Limited on behalf of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
It takes place on a stretch of the River Thames in London known as The Tideway. The Race starts at Putney and finishes at Mortlake and travels along the four and a quarter mile University Course. Each Boat Race attracts over 100 million worldwide television viewers as well as an average of 250,000 spectators along the bank each year. The 2007 Race will be sponsored by Xchanging and broadcast in the UK by ITV Sport and LBC Radio.
Competing rowers must be either an undergraduate or postgraduate student at either Oxford or Cambridge University. They must pass rigorous academic admission standards and must be capable of juggling the demands of their studies with around five hours of training a day. www.theboatrace.org