The United States Rowing Association has invited the Iraq National Rowing Team to train in the United States from July 26-November 10, 2010. They will also be doing some training in Canada.

One of the locations at which the Iraqi team will train and compete will be at Harsha Lake at East Fork State Park. The rowers from Iraq will be in Clermont County, Oct. 4-12.

According to Glenn Merry, the chief executive officer of the United States Rowing Association, “The purpose of the training in the United States is to provide the Iraq National Rowing Team with an intensive athletic experience in preparation for competition in the 16th Asian Games (that will take place in Guangzhou, China) in November (12-27) 2010 under the ideals of Olympic solidarity and friendship between nations.

“During their training in the United States the Iraqi team coach will also be provided with the most up to date training and coaching development information by the United States Rowing National Team coaching staff.

“Housing, training diet, equipment, and transportation will be arranged at host locations that will most benefit the Iraqi’s training development.

“The training plan will be supported financially and organizationally through private individuals and organizations who support the ideals of Olympic solidarity and friendship.”

Other areas of the United States that will host the Iraqis are Boston, Ithaca, N. Y., Pittsburgh, Princeton, N. J., and Washington, D. C.

Greatly responsible for helping bring the Iraqi’s to the United States and Clermont County is Bill Engeman, a resident of Miami Township and a retired lawyer who was instrumental in bringing national and international rowing to Harsha Lake when East Fork State Park first opened in the late 1970s.

He and another gentleman, Bruce H. Smith, collected the support of the United States State Department, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Rowing Federation and its Iraq branch. They flew from Boston in May to help the Iraqis develop a national team.

They met Abdul Salam Dawood, president of the Iraqi Rowing and Canoe Federation in Poznan, Poland, at the time that community hosted the International Rowing Championships in August 2009. It was here the arrangement was agreed upon to bring the Iraqi team to this country to learn and train.

Engeman, who is serving as the volunteer coordinator of this project to bring the Iraqis to the United States, has always been passionate about rowing and about Clermont County’s wonderful naturalness and facilities for his beloved sport.

“Without getting into the politics, this feels like what we ought to be doing. We need to help the Iraqis go forward with their lives. I hope rowing can be a small part of that,” Engeman concluded.

The Iraq National Rowing Team members are Jaefar Ahmed Amira, Majed Salih Abdul Raheem, Hamzah Hussein Jebur, Haeidr Nawzad Hamarasheid, Mohammed Hamid Rasheed, Ahmed Abdulsalam Khelaf, Ahmed Sattar Zaidan, and Khalid Haqi Ismael.