Sunday 22nd July was an exciting day for Junior Rowing News partner Mizuno who played a huge part in the success of the inaugural Power8 Sprints event launched by British Rowing. Held in Bristol Harbour as the headline act at the Bristol Harbour Festival, eight cities battled it out, head-to-head over 350m in a bid to be crowned Power8 sprint champions.
The cities represented were Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford – Oxford triumphed in the women’s event and Manchester took the honours for the men. Bristol also featured strongly with runner-up spots in both categories on home water.
Each team wore kit packages made by Mizuno, the Japanese brand whose unashamedly technical approach to apparel manufacturing has seen them take the rowing community by storm. Every crew member received a hoodie and polo shirt designed in their team colours but the star of the show was undoubtedly the all-in-one. At this level only the best will do and Mizuno didn’t disappoint, providing their top of the range Omega kit for the occasion.
The Omega suit is the epitome of high performance. It’s ultra light weight, wicks sweat and dries moisture fast and its construction went through nine phases of testing to ensure the shape and panelling is in sync with the shape and movement of both male and female athletes. With Mizuno already the official kit supplier to British Rowing, extending the partnership to Power8 sprints was an easy and obvious move.
Feedback from athletes and coaches was universally excellent across the event and kit. Lara Valt, who raced in the winning Oxford crew, was delighted with her crew’s performance.
“The event was amazing,” she said, speaking with Junior Rowing News a few days after the win. “It’s different to anything I’ve done before, but the atmosphere was so lively and the festival a lot of fun. We were really pleased with the result, especially as it was the inaugural staging of the event”. She was also full of praise for the substantial support provided by Mizuno.
“The kit was excellent – it’s the first all in one I’ve had from Mizuno and it’s currently my favourite. It’s really comfy, and fits well in the right places.”
Harry Higginbottom raced in the men’s eight from Manchester, who triumphed over Bristol in a thrilling final. “Racing and winning at the first Power 8 Sprints allowed my teammates and I to celebrate a city of culture and heritage,” explained Higginbottom, who has previously competed for Great Britain as a junior. “Team Manchester looked great in orange and couldn’t have done it without Mizuno, whose comfortable, expertly-designed kit ensured we could represent the North with pride.”
Rachel Hooper, who managed the winning men’s boat from Manchester, spoke of the crew’s journey from assembling a rag-tag team in the spring to producing the fastest sprint eight in the whole event.
“The athletes loved the event,” she enthused. “Early on, we set out an agenda to ensure that the crew was comprised of people who learned to row in the North. We used the city of Manchester as motivation and wanted to continue the development of talent across the region.”
Hooper, who works closely with several of the biggest clubs in that area of the country, also highlighted the fact that the crew was all about enjoying a new challenge. “It was unique and exciting and a totally different spectacle to anything we’d seen before”.
She also spoke highly of Mizuno’s kit, explaining that it had come a long way since she first saw their work in rowing. “They’ve clearly listened to feedback, taken that on-board and developed their kit into high-performance apparel. The smaller details were all spot on and both of our crews were delighted with all the kit provided to them”.
The Power8 Sprint branding is incredibly strong – vivid colours with a chevron theme that runs through the official logo, the boats and of course the kit. In finalising kit designs, Mizuno combined their Japanese heritage with the existing branding – each coloured chevron representing a sash worn with the traditional Japansese kimono garment. As rowing in the UK goes from strength to strength so strength, so too does Mizuno’s standing in the sport as the number one kit brand.
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