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Months of hard training culminated in a fierce 10 minute battle on the Alster Saturday afternoon between the rowing teams of Jacobs and HSBA. Cheered on by crowds of supporters who made the trip from Bremen the Jacobs' Buccaneers rowed to within a mere half boat length of victory. By securing second place, the one year old Jacobs rowing team gave their supporters much to be proud about. The Buccaneers resume their early morning training schedule after next week's Graduation festivities; in order to be in shape for this summer's annual rowing race in support of cancer research.
[
May
31, 2008]
Athletic contests between universities - in friendship but peppered with serious ambition - is a traditional component of academic culture, in particular in the Anglo American universities. The most famous and probably oldest university rowing contest is the annual “Boat Race” on the Thames between Oxford and Cambridge. Begun in 1829, the competition between rowers of the two British elite universities has run 153 times since then.
The first battle for the „Hanse Rowing Cup“ this weekend on the Alster also will be as much about friendship as about who is victorious. The 16 rowers from Jacobs University and the HSBA will fight for the one meter high cup over a distance of 2300 meters. While the “Hanse Rowing Cup” is young, the venue is steeped in tradition. The race course, according to the Hamburg and Germania Rowing Club, is the oldest in Europe and the second oldest in the world. The privilege of choosing a racing lane fell to Jacobs University, earning this by defeating the HSBA in an indoor rowing competition on the Jacobs University campus in February.
The „Buccaneers “, the 13 strong student Jacobs rowing team inclusive coxswain and reserves, are essentially rowing beginners, who trained hard throughout the last year, both indoor and out. „Without the great support of the Vegesacker Rowing Club e. V. we could have never accepted the challenge of the HSBA “, Michele Lapenna, sports coordinator of Jacobs University says. „We were given use of the club’s boats and entire facilities, and the club coaches Dirk Eckelt, Ulrike and Tim Laube, Maike Rebettge and Lars Schröder did a great job in motivating our team with their enthusiasm and push the training success with their competence.“
With the annual rowing competition the two private universities aim at strengthening their friendship and its further development. In addition they hope to make university rowing more attractive in Northern Germany while supporting Germany in its bid for Universiade 2015.
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