A first: two Turkish crews will be rowing in the next BCGE Tour du Léman.
The aim is not only sporting, but also ethical.
Meet one of the project’s initiators, Işıl Gündüz.
Işıl, how did you hear about the Tour du Léman à l’Aviron? We were looking for a well-organized race and event that would meet our needs.
As no Turkish rower had ever participated in such a race, we relied on the Internet and the event’s social networks. Why did you choose to take part in this event? We want to push our physical and mental limits, and add variety to our coastal rowing.
The Tour du Léman à l’Aviron appealed to us because of its nature, distance and organization. What is the history of your team and your club? Moda Rowing Club is a relatively young club, established in 2021 under the leadership of Ulaş Gürpınar with around 30 volunteers.
In a short space of time, our club has become competitive and brought together a large number of energetic and strong rowers, who have won numerous medals and championships.
Recently, we have taken on youngsters under the age of 15 free of charge, with the aim of training them and helping them obtain sports scholarships for their studies.
The Moda Rowing Club is not just a rowing club: it also aims to raise awareness of various social and environmental issues and contribute to global sustainability goals, including gender equality, the defence of disadvantaged and oppressed groups, the defence of the right to life of stray animals or the collection of garbage at sea. What are your objectives and what do you expect from your participation? From a sporting point of view, we want to prepare well for this race, increase our endurance and stamina, and finish the race happy and healthy.
We also want to contribute to national and international public awareness campaigns against the stray animal slaughter law, which affects us deeply.
We want to be a voice and a breath of fresh air for stray dogs.
Achieving these two goals while having fun would make us happy.