Sino-Australian Friendly Collegiate Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge Farewell Ceremony

Today we celebrated the inaugural Sino-Australian Collegiate Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge at a farewell event for the 18 Adelaide University athletes preparing to travel to China this Monday.

The challenge is a new flagship youth engagement initiative between Australia and China, with the China-Australia People-to-People Youth Exchange (CAPYE) Program.

The Adelaide University Men’s and Women’s intervarsity rowing teams came together this morning for a gift exchange and blazer presentation ceremony attended by Deputy Consul-General Chen Gang, Michelle Wilson CEO of Adelaide University Sport & Fitness, Adelaide University Deputy Vice Chancellor Tom Steer and Andrew Swift CEO of Rowing SA.

These elite athlete students will spend 8 days in Nanjing, China and experience not just dragon boat racing and 1000m sprint rowing racing, but also cultural tours, scenic tours and immersive experiences, combining into an exciting journey that they will no doubt long remember.

The teams feature numerous members from the Adelaide University Boat Club, which has a proud history dating back to 1881 and a constant presence on the intervarsity stage.

Michelle Wilson, CEO of Adelaide University Sport & Fitness said “Adelaide University has a long history of competing in national intervarsity events, which began at the Australian University Championships in 1870 against Sydney and Melbourne universities. To now compete on the international stage in Nanjing with universities from China and Australia, is an exciting opportunity for our student athletes”.

Student representative Izac Nilsen said “This trip demonstrates the incredible opportunities offered to students through combining both sport and tertiary education. Sport has a unique ability to bring people together regardless of language or background. We are excited not only to compete, but to learn, to grow, and to build lasting friendships with young people from around the world.”

Adelaide University has a long legacy of supporting students in recreational and elite sporting endeavours. It hosts more than 40 sporting clubs, an extensive state, national and international intervarsity program; a high-performance sports science hub at the world-class South Australian Sports Institute and six on-campus gyms.