Rowers mark six months to Paralympics 2012

Competition is fierce and as the six month countdown begins several of the UK's Paralympic rowers are in training. They are vying for places to be among the 48 men and 48 women from across the world who will be competing this year. London 2012 is only the second time that rowing will be part of the Paralympic Games.

The sport of Paralympic Rowing is also known as 'adaptive' rowing meaning that equipment has been adapted to the sportsperson rather than the sport having been adapted to to the athlete.

Adaptive rowing training to mark six months to the start of the Paralympics is taking place on the Redgrave/Pinsent Rowing Lake in Caversham near Reading on Wednesday. The venue is the national home of adaptive rowing.

Among those taking to water at the event are Britain's two reigning world champion crews including Tom Aggar the men's single scull champion from Maidenhead; and members of the mixed adaptive coxed four - Naomi Riches from Marlow, Pamela Relph from Aylesbury, David Smith from Ascot James Roe from Caversham along with their coxswain Lily van den Broecke from Oxford.

They are all members of the GB Rowing Team - vying for places at the season's International and world cup races before 'Team GB' choses its adaptive rowing team for the Paralympic Games on 27th June.