Rowing: Japanese quartet rowing for Otago University

(from left) Kazuho Okada, Naoki Danguri, Hiro Inaga and Yutaro Oichi train at the University of Otago Rowing Club. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
(from left) Kazuho Okada, Naoki Danguri, Hiro Inaga and Yutaro Oichi train at the University of Otago Rowing Club. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Four Japanese rowers will represent the Otago University club at the national university championships in Wanganui this weekend.

Kazuho Okada, Naoki Danguri, Hiro Inaga and Yutaro Oichi are part of a new programme launched by Education New Zealand, the University of Otago and the Japanese Rowing Association.

The programme features Japanese students spending up to five weeks in Dunedin to learn English and hone their rowing skills at the Otago University club's facilities.

In addition to learning English daily between 9am and 3pm, the students will complete three daily sessions at the rowing club.

Education New Zealand approached Otago University Rowing Club director Glen Sinclair late last year regarding the launch of the programme.

''I went to Japan at the start of February to discuss interest in the rowing programme with universities and the Japanese Rowing Association,'' Sinclair said.

''They love the concept and want to promote it widely across Japan.''

A few weeks after the visit to Japan, Okada, Danguri, Inaga and Oichi arrived in Dunedin as the programme's guinea pigs.

''These guys are top-level rowers from Kyoto University in Japan,'' Sinclair said.

''Their coach came over at the start for a few days to see what was going on.''

As full members of the university, all four will get a ''unique'' opportunity to compete in the national university rowing championships, Sinclair said.

Five weeks is the ''preferred'' time students will stay in Dunedin, and another crop of promising Japanese rowers will follow the group already here.

The programme would run year round, and could expand to other universities across the country if it proved successful in Dunedin, Sinclair said.

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