Swedish Coast Guard team wins HELCOM Trophy once again

Karlskrona, Sweden, 1 September (HELCOM) – For the third year in a row, the Swedish Coast Guard team has won the HELCOM Trophy rowing competition. The race was held on 1^st September in Karlskrona, Sweden, following the Helsinki Commission’s annual pollution response exercise BALEX DELTA 2005.

Seven teams, representing response vessels from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, took part in this year’s HELCOM competition.

The teams were divided into two groups. The Swedish and Polish teams were the first to finish in their groups, followed by the Finnish and Danish teams. The two best teams from each group qualified for the final. In a dramatic final race the Swedish boat finished first and the Finnish boat crossed the finish line only seconds later.

This was the tenth HELCOM rowing competition held since 1990. The race has been won six times by the Swedish team, twice by the Lithuanian team, and once each by the Polish and Finnish teams. 

Winners of the HELCOM Trophy rowing competition:

2005 (Karlskrona) – Sweden

2004 (Warnemünde) – Sweden

2003 (Helsinki) - Sweden

2002 (Liepaja) – Lithuania

2001 (Rönne) – Lithuania

2000 (St. Petersburg) – Sweden

1998 (Gdynia) – Finland

1996 (Karlskrona) – Poland

1991 (Rönne) – Sweden

1990 (Gdynia) – Sweden