Canottieri Firenze Challenge

The first ever edition of the annual Canottieri Firenze Challenge event was held in the shadow of the Ponte Vecchio as a tribute to the historic departure of the Tour De France from Florence. The event was held in collaboration with the Florence Rowing Society and the Institute of Military Aeronautical Sciences and coordinated by Once.

Eight teams from all over Europe competed for the San Giovanni Trophy made by renowned Florentine craftsman Paolo Penko. An inter-boat challenge was held at the headquarters of the Florence Rowing Society in mixed teams of four men and four women under the age of 23 over a distance of more than 500 meters.

The eight teams competing included Belgium with the K.B.R Roeien F.R.B.A Aviron team, England with the Cambridge University Boat Club team, Holland with the LAGA team, Italy with the FIC Rowing team, Germany with the Marburg Uni-Rowing team, France with the Club de l’aviron CAV Vichy team, Spain with the Real Club Mediterráneo team, and Slovenia with the BLED team. Slovenia took first place, followed by Italy and France.

As the coordinating agency of the event, we thank the wonderful sponsors whose contributions strongly supported the event, including: Guess, Tivoli Palazzo Gaddi, TM Wagen, Suzuki Italia, FlorenceOnTheGo, Fisiorama, Terre di Etruria Toscana, Paolo Penko, and Chinese Dragon Boat Club. An important thanks to partner Filippi Boats. The event was sponsored by Tuscany and the City of Florence.