Sulkavan Suursoudut (English: ) is

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

's biggest

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically at ...

race, held every July in

Sulkava Sulkava is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juva, Puumala, R ...

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; fi, Etelä-Savo; sv, Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total a ...

, Eastern Finland. It is organised by the Sulkava Association. The 50th race was held in 2017.

History

The first competition was held in 1968 with 38 competitors. The winner was 67-year-old Einari Luukkonen in a time of 8 hours, 29 minutes, and 40 seconds. The boats used in competitions are Finnish traditional style wooden rowing boats, normally now made of plywood. Since 1984 there have been competitions in 40 foot 'church-boats', 14 seat craft plus a cox that were traditionally used in church trips. Today the four-day competition involves approximately 8000 rowers with roughly 20,000 people visiting to watch the race. In 2007 the 40th anniversary of the race was held and the four-day competition extended to six days. The race route is approximately . In most years the start is Hakovirta, circling Partalansaari island and finishing at the Sulkava rowing stadium. Current records of the competition are 5.05.50 for men singles, 6.05.53 for women singles; the church boats travel the distance in about 4 hours. Between 7- and 8,000 competitors and 20,000 spectators take part in Sulkavan Suursoudut every July. The World Masters Rowing Event for church-boats was introduced in 2010, attracting 13 crews from abroad. The competition was held over distances of and . The fastest foreign crew over the latter distance was the squad Eco from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, finishing in 4 hours and 48 minutes, 45 minutes behind the winning squad, Joutele from

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland.

References

{{Reflist
Soutujen of participants
Sulkava Society. Retrieved 11/07/2011. * Keränen, Kalle: Results. ''Sulkava-Journal'', 17/07/2008, No. 29, p 34 * http://www.suursoudut.fi * (40 Sulkavan results) ''Sulkava-Journal'' , 12/07/2007, No. 28, pp. 36 ISSN 0782-6583 . * (40 Sulkavan results) ''Sulkava-Journal'' , 12/07/2007, No. 28, pp. 32 ISSN 0782-6583 .
Route Records
Sulkava Society. Retrieved 11/07/2011.

External links

Competition homepage in English
Rowing competitions in Finland South Savo