Vogalonga
Encyclopedia
Vogalonga is a rowing
"competition" in the Italian
city of Venice
.
On November 11, 1974 a group of Venetians, both amateur and professional rowers, had a race in the island of Burano
. They came up with an idea of non-competitive "race" in which any kind of rowing boat could participate, in the spirit of historical festivities. The first Vogalonga began the next year with the message to protest against the growing use of powerboats in Venice and the swell damage they do to the historic city.
Participants gather in St Marks Basin in front of the ducal palace. They sing hymns to San Marco (Saint Mark) and begin the "race". The racecourse is scenic route 30 kilometers long along the various Venetian canals and historical buildings.
Each participant receives a commemorative medal and a certificate of participation. They may also receive a prize, chosen randomly, which are often trophy coups and plaques, decorative oars and other mementos local associations, newspapers and the organizing committee have donated.
The numbers of participants has swelled to thousands over the years from all over the world. Some locals have founded new rowing clubs and build their own boats based on real, historical watercraft. Some participants have brought their own kind of boats like the Chinese dragon boat
s. Some have also chosen to swim through the route instead of rowing.
The 2009 Vogalonga event became a small scale disaster, with strong winds overturning several rowboats and 50 people had to be pulled from the water, although police and fire service motorboats were quick on the scene and nobody was seriously injured. http://www.ilgazzettino.it/articolo.php?id=60427
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
"competition" in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
city of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
On November 11, 1974 a group of Venetians, both amateur and professional rowers, had a race in the island of Burano
Burano
Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges...
. They came up with an idea of non-competitive "race" in which any kind of rowing boat could participate, in the spirit of historical festivities. The first Vogalonga began the next year with the message to protest against the growing use of powerboats in Venice and the swell damage they do to the historic city.
Participants gather in St Marks Basin in front of the ducal palace. They sing hymns to San Marco (Saint Mark) and begin the "race". The racecourse is scenic route 30 kilometers long along the various Venetian canals and historical buildings.
Each participant receives a commemorative medal and a certificate of participation. They may also receive a prize, chosen randomly, which are often trophy coups and plaques, decorative oars and other mementos local associations, newspapers and the organizing committee have donated.
The numbers of participants has swelled to thousands over the years from all over the world. Some locals have founded new rowing clubs and build their own boats based on real, historical watercraft. Some participants have brought their own kind of boats like the Chinese dragon boat
Dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
s. Some have also chosen to swim through the route instead of rowing.
The 2009 Vogalonga event became a small scale disaster, with strong winds overturning several rowboats and 50 people had to be pulled from the water, although police and fire service motorboats were quick on the scene and nobody was seriously injured. http://www.ilgazzettino.it/articolo.php?id=60427