OARS IN THE WATER

Rowing in Azerbaijan is on the up and seems to be regaining its past position on the international stage. In the past few years the Kur rowing base at Mingacevir has been under reconstruction and could turn Azerbaijan into not only a regional, but also a European, rowing centre. On top of this, our sportsmen have been doing better in practically all types of rowing, kayaking and canoeing. 

Rowers conquer Germany

In recent months everyone has been talking about the duo of Timur Kutseba and Aleksandr Glotov who did well in three rowing regattas in Germany. The team's chief coach, Rudiger Hauffe, said the trip had been planned after the team's winter training when the lads needed competitive practice at a fairly high level. This was the only way to judge the rowers' current level and their future prospects. "The lads are in good condition, which can be seen from the competition results, as we decided to compete in three regattas - in Munich, Cologne and Hamburg," the coach said. The competition in Munich is considered one of the major junior championships in Europe and this time it attracted rowers from 22 countries. For every team the regatta was a test run where sportsmen could be tried out in competition and their current form assessed. The competition was very tough - rowers from Great Britain, Romania, Serbia, the hosts and many other teams were competing for medals. But our pair of Timur Kutseba and Aleksandr Glotov were not fazed at all; they made it to the last eight and won bronze.

This was followed by an appearance in Cologne where the lads came first, achieving the best result, although on the third day they made some tactical errors and finished third. Our pair came second in their group in Hamburg and on the next day came first, beating their closest competitors. "These competitions are invaluable experience for the lads who can be confident of their ability. The current success is the result of the hard winter training which formed the basis of their preparations. I think the team has reached a new level although it hasn't yet managed to get the important results in major competitions. It's worth mentioning here the rowers' success in the Great Moscow Regatta where they won two gold and one bronze medal. This is also a historic achievement, considering the status of the tournament," Rudiger Hauffe said.

It is remarkable that many foreign experts did not expect our team to do so well and were rather surprised by our recent success. For example, after winning the regatta in Munich, Timur Kutseba and Aleksandr Glotov went on to show in Cologne and Hamburg that their results were no fluke. The lads now face a much tougher task, the fight for a licence to taken part in the junior Olympics 2010 in Singapore. For this our pair need to reach the last eight in the world championships which will be held in France.

"I have worked in many countries. I have been here just six months. But I was attracted by the grit and determination of the national federation to bring rowing in the country to a qualitatively new level which we are doing our best to achieve. I see potential here, otherwise I wouldn't have come. Azerbaijani rowing has a great future and the reconstruction of the Kur rowing base will open up new horizons. New conditions will be created for training, momentum will be increased and all this will produce fruit in the foreseeable future," Hauffe said.

Foreign boatmen required 

Steps are being taken to invite foreign canoeists and kayakers both as sportsmen and trainers to Azerbaijan to improve the national level. "You cannot expect results from a boatman until he has done four or five years of training," the head of the national federation, Elcin Zeynalov, said. "Technique, skill and strength are built up through rowing or paddling several hundred thousand kilometres. This distance is covered in five to six years, so it's simply unrealistic to expect success after just one year. This poses the question of the need to bring in foreigners. Don't forget that it's extremely important for an athlete to have someone to emulate. An athlete that is just starting out needs to see a sportsman ahead of him so that he can understand his own speed and technique. When you see a world class athlete ahead of you, you see his attitude towards training and sport, you watch his technique and strength and gain experience. That's why we've invited canoeists and kayakers from abroad, whose results we like, to compete under our flag. Looking at last season's performances, in one stage of the World Cup Valentin Demyanenko achieved the best result of the year. In May our canoeists won two silvers and one bronze in the latest stage of the World Cup." 

The subject of foreign sportsmen applies only to canoeing and kayaking, as there aren't any foreigners in rowing. The lack of trained sportsmen means that the team cannot compete in adult competitions, but makes up for it with its active participation in junior and youth tournaments. There have been many offers from abroad, including from Ukraine, the USA and Canada, but the sportsmen were not up to standard. "But if a good candidacy appears, we will consider it straightaway. We've not yet had any success in adult competitions, but we have pretty good young sportsmen. We have at least 15 rowers competing for the first team. There are lads in the younger age groups from Baku and Mingacevir who have shown what they can do at the national championships and give us hope. From next year our rowers who are now competing at youth level may try their strength in adult tournaments. This will depend of course on whether or not they are ready for this," Elcin Zeynalov said.

The federation's initial plans are to win licences to the Youth Olympics in Singapore in rowing, kayaking and canoeing. This is the minimum objective. The maximum objective is to put in good performances in the games and qualify for the finals. In the long term, the trainers are working on the lads qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in London.

At the same time, the national federation leadership does have some concerns. One is that it's possible to row only in Mingacevir. "There are no proper facilities for this in Baku where the human potential is much greater," Elcin Zeynalov said. "Only Mingacevir and Baku are involved in developing rowing while there are excellent lakes in Qabala, Ali-Bayramli, Neftcala and Daskasan. How were sportsmen selected for the national team during the Soviet era? Thousands of youngsters from the Pacific and Northern fleets, Siberia, St Petersburg, Moscow and other regions went through an initial selection after which 70% of the rowers were weeded out. As a result, several sportsmen were chosen and sent to Mingacevir where they honed their skills. Although the USSR did enjoy some success in rowing, it was not a leading power in the sport. Today in Germany there are 32 coxless pairs in rowing. That's a wide choice. So it will be difficult to talk about excellent results if the right conditions aren't created in Baku where the Caspian isn't suitable as it's windy 300 days of the year and rowing isn't developed in other regions."  

Azerbaijani rowing is taking its first steps on the international stage and it has a long way to go before it can join the leaders. However, the first moves have been made and we can hope that the team's results will improve from year to year. We just have to wait for work to finish on the Kur rowing base which will be an excellent base for training the new generation of rowers.