30 euro – World Rowing Championships Bled 2011
Series: Slovenia – Silver 30 euro coins
The first World Rowing Championships were held in 1962 in Lucerne, Switzerland. The championships were initially held every four years, but have been an annual event since 1974. In 2011 (from 28 August to 4 September) the World Championships will be held in Bled for the fourth time. Bled is known for one of the most beautiful rowing courses in the world, and for successful and acclaimed world and European championships organised on Lake Bled.
The Adaptive World Rowing Championships will be held at the same time, as rules prohibiting major sporting competitions from taking place without disciplines for disabled competitors are established.
Rowing has a long and successful tradition in Slovenia. The origins of rowing date back to 1887, when the first rowing club, Piranese Salvore, was founded in Piran. Competitive rowing later spread to Ljubljana and Bled. The results of Slovenia's long rowing tradition are seen in the medals earned at the Olympic Games and World Championships. Rowers successfully represented Slovenia as an independent country for the first time at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, where they earned the first medals for independent Slovenia.
Slovenia has decided to issue collector coins to commemorate the World Rowing Championships in Bled, where the world's best rowers will compete. The obverse of the coins will bear an illustration of the wake of a boat and oars, while the reverse will bear the outlines of boats racing across the water's surface.