BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The Seventh China University Rowing Championship, also trials for the rowing event of the 31st Summer World University Games opened in Shenyang, capital city of Liaoning Province in northeast China on May 12.
The championship, which attracted more than 500 rowers at home to gather and compete on Hunhe River, one of China's most beautiful urban still water race tracks, is a professional college and university rowing competition platform under the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) and Chinese Rowing Association.
The event, also the 4th Shenyang international adolescent rowing invitational tournament, was participated by energetic rowers from many reputed colleges and universities across China, including Peking University, Tongji University, Wuhan Huaxia Institute of Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University, Henan University, Shanghai Ocean University and etc.
On May 14, rowers from colleges and universities will also compete for admission to the rowing event of the 31st Summer World University Games in Shenyang.
As a city where five international rowing open tournaments have been held since 2018, Shenyang vigorously revved up development of rowing sport in recent years and initiated activities such as the rowing on campus activity to draw more adolescents to take part in rowing. A "Star of the Tomorrow" selection activity for the 4th Shenyang international adolescent rowing invitational tournament was also launched on May 12 to better leverage the role of rower models in comprehensively pressing ahead with rowing sport in Shenyang.
Research results of the China (Shenyang) rowing development index showed that rowing developed at a pace that accelerated significantly in Shenyang in the past five years. A rowing competition system comprised mainly of the Shenyang international rowing open tournament has also been greatly propelled in the city alongside notable increases in participating athletes and audiences.
Nearly 300 young rowers from over 30 teams will compete in the contests of Single Sculls, Double Sculls, Quadruple Sculls and Eight, which refers to eight-person rowing with eight sculls, on the 2-day schedule of the 4th Shenyang international adolescent rowing invitational tournament. (Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)