TWO intrepid teams from the University of Worcester Rowing Club will row thousands of miles during a gruelling non-stop world record attempt starting on Monday.
The two teams of 10, one men’s and one women’s, will try to smash existing world records for longest continual rowing by rowing day and night to raise funds for the Worcester Snoezelen centre.
The men’s team is aiming to row more than 2,019 miles (3,250 kilometres), equivalent to the distance from Worcester to Athens, in 11 days, and the women’s team needs to reach 1,242 miles (2,000 kilometres) in seven days to beat the current record.
One competitor from each team will row at any one time on indoor rowing machines but the machine cannot be allowed to stop or the record attempt fails.
Members of the public who would like to try their own hand at rowing can also have a go at seeing how far they can row in one minute.
The challenge will begin at 9am on Monday, March 1, in the CrownGate Shopping Centre, Worcester.
Rowing club head coach Jamie Wilton said: “To smash this record would be such an amazing achievement.
“We’ve been training hard and want to raise as much money as possible for Worcester Snoezelen, which does such fantastic work within the local community, and is a charity that we feel deserves more recognition.”
CrownGate centre manager Erica Burlace said: “This is such a fantastic challenge and I really admire the athletes who are pushing themselves to the limit to beat this record and put themselves on the international rowing map, whilst raising funds for such a worthwhile cause.
The Worcester Snoezelen centre is a leisure centre for people with disabilities. It has multi-sensory rooms, hydrotherapy, accessible music making, soft play, creative arts and a sensory garden.
Jane Campbell from the centre in Turnpike Close, St John’s, said: “Everyone at the Worcester Snoezelen would like to say a really big thank you and a good luck to the rowing club. This is a fantastic way to raise funds and we appreciate the hard work the students and organisers have given to this event.”
Collections will be made in CrownGate during the challenge and people can donate online at row4charity.org.
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