Benidorm hosts the SUMA Regional Sea Rowing Championship on Saturday in Poniente beach

Benidorm's Poniente Beach bay will host the SUMA Regional Sea Rowing Championship this Saturday, June 7th. This championship is organised by the Valencian Community Rowing Federation, the Benidorm Yacht Club, the Spanish Rowing Federation, Iberdrola, and the City Council's collaboration through the Department of Sports.

The event will begin at nine in the morning and "will announce the regional champions of the speciality, as well as serve as the opening ceremony for the Iberdrola National Sea Rowing League, which consists of six regattas," explained Sports Councillor Javier Jordá during the event presentation. He said that 89 teams from 12 clubs from various autonomous communities are expected to participate. A total of around 300 rowers will gather in the city this Saturday.

Participants will compete in different categories (cadets, juniors, seniors, and veterans), all of which feature male and female boats. Mixed boats are also included in the senior and veteran categories.

The boats participating in Sea Rowing are divided into different categories, according to Jaime Mas, the event's technical manager. Thus, "Skiff" or "C1X" has only one crew member, "C2X" has two crew members, and "C4X" has four crew members and a helmsman. The Benidorm Yacht Club, which is rowing at home this time, will participate with two double teams and a four-man crew.

The day, which will host a large number of fans, both athletes and visitors, is expected to be sunny with southwesterly winds of around eight knots, "which will make it a difficult race due to the sea conditions," explained Jordá, adding that "the starts will be a bit complicated for the referees, but full of excitement."

Jaime Mas indicated that the regatta will take place near the Yacht Club, on Poniente Beach, "from where the races will be visible, as the race course is planned to be located near the beach." The start is scheduled for 9 a.m., and the finish is expected at 6 p.m. after the medal ceremony.

Mas also explained that the races for the different categories and disciplines will take place every twenty minutes, with a total of 26 starts. These races will consist of a circuit with 10 markers and two courses: one of 3,000 meters for the cadet, veteran, and mixed veteran categories, and another of 4,500 meters for the junior, senior, and senior mixed categories.

Jaime Samper, president of the Yacht Club, in addition to thanking the Valencian and Spanish federations for their trust, expressed his hope that "all fans of the sea and racing will come together to appreciate the beauty of this tough and exciting sport: rowing." The Councillor for Sports concluded by inviting "everyone to come and watch this day of rowing because there's never a dull moment."