Sculling ace bound for China

Bendigo Rowing Club’s Alex Conway will get her first taste of international rowing when she heads to China on exchange this month.The 18-year-old will join talented rowers from Australia, the US, New Zealand, Japan and China for an international training camp with head Chinese coach Wu Weiping.Conway, who is in year 12 at Catholic College Bendigo, will travel with seven other Victorian rowers to China for the 19-day camp from June 28 to July 16 at the Shanghai Water Sports Centre in China.Conway has had a lot of recent success in her rowing, winning gold at the Victorian Schools Regatta in the championship double scull where she teamed with Krysta Ellul.She also won gold at the recent Footscray Regatta in the female C-grade single scull, and placed second at the Victorian titles in the D grade sculls event.The Bendigo Rowing Club member said she was excited about her international adventure and hoped to take in as much as she could from the Chinese head coach as well as other participants at the camp.“I hope that I can take advantage of the coaching in China, because we will be under a national coach,” she said.“It will be a really good experience and should help further my rowing.“It should be really good because there will be rowers from America, New Zealand and Japan there as well as China so it will be good to get their ideas on rowing.”Conway said she hopes the experience in China will put her on track to compete in Australian National Rowing Championships, held next year in March.“We will be doing different training camps and then there will be competition to see the outcome of the training,” Conway said.“I hope to get a lot out of the camp as I’d like to go as far as I can in my rowing. “The Nationals next March are my next big goal.”Conway is the only rower attending the 19-day camp from the Bendigo Rowing Club, with other rowers from Nagambie Rowing Club and Hawthorn Rowing Club also being accepted to attend the Chinese exchange program.