Ten Olympians, including dual Olympic gold medallist Drew Ginn, Athens silver medallist Ben Cureton and bronze medallists Dana Faletic and Stefan Szczurowski headline the World Championship squad announced by Rowing Australia.

The 2006 Senior squad, which includes a further five athletes with senior national team experience, will compete in the World Cup Series and World Rowing Championships.

The squad was selected following the national selection regatta at Penrith from 20-23 April.

"We have assembled a very talented squad with considerable depth for this year's international season," said Rowing Australia's high performance director, Noel Donaldson.

"The returning Olympians will add another dimension to the team which performed so well in winning four gold medals at last year's World Rowing Championships.

"This is also another step in our Olympic preparations ahead of Beijing in 2008 and making that one of the most successful Olympic campaigns for rowing."

The World Rowing Championships in Eton, England, will be held from August 20-27.

The Worlds is the main focus this year and will be a crucial measure for how Australia is placed two years out from Beijing.

The 2004 Athens Olympics was a solid performance but not outstanding for the Australian team.

Ginn and James Tomkins won the only gold with their emphatic win in the coxless pairs. There were three minor medals; men’s lightweight coxless four (silver), women’s quad sculls and men's eight (bronze).

The Australian Senior A Team will follow the ‘two-trip’ system in the lead-in to the World Championships. This ‘two-trip system will mirror the preparation planned for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For their first trip, the team will depart Australia on 20 May ahead of the Munich World Cup commencing on 25 May, followed by a fifteen-day training camp in Varese, Italy.

The team will then compete at the Poznan World Cup starting on 15 June, followed by an immediate flight home.

The Senior A team will return to Varese on 5 August for 11 days for their final preparations prior to their next taste of international competition at the World Rowing Championships in Eton.

The squad is:

Men's - Heavyweight Sweep Squad (Eight and coxless four - AIS based): James Chapman (NSW) Sam Conrad (Qld), Hardy Cubasch (Qld), Karsten Forsterling (Vic), Francis Hegerty, (NSW), Tom Laurich (NSW) James Marburg (Vic), David McGowan (WA), Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (Vic), Christian Ryan (Vic), Matthew Ryan (NSW), Jeremy Stevenson (WA), Stefan Szczurowski (NSW) Cox (from): Marc Douez (Vic) Marty Rabjohns (NSW).

Heavy Sculling Squad: (Sydney-based) Quad and double scull: David Crawshay (Vic), James Gatti (WA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW), Craig Jones, (ACT), Chris Morgan (SA) Dan Noonan (NSW).

Lightweight squad (Perth-based) coxless four, double scull and pair: Sam Beltz (Tas) Ben Cureton (WA), Tom Gibson (Tas) Michael McBryde (Qld), Tim O'Callaghan (Vic), Todd Skipworth (WA), Tim Smith (Vic), Cameron Wurf (Tas)

Heavyweight Pair (Gold Coast based): Duncan Free (Qld), Drew Ginn (Vic).

Women's - Heavyweight Sweep Squad (AIS-based): Sarah Heard (Vic) Emily Martin (Vic), Sarah Cook (ACT), Amber Bradley (WA), Kate Hornsey (Tas), Kim Crowe (Vic) Jo Lutz (WA), Robyn Selby Smith (Vic) Clare Shield (Tas) Cox: Lizzy Patrick (Vic).

Heavyweight Sculling Squad (AIS based) and double scull (Adelaide): Dana Faletic (Tas) Sally Kehoe, Sonia Mills (ACT) Catriona Sens (Vic) Liz Kell (NSW), Brooke Pratley (NSW).

Lightweight Double Scull (Adelaide based): Amber Halliday (SA), Marguerite Houston (SA).

Adaptive LTA Coxed Four Gene Barrett (NSW) Kristen Mercer (NSW), Julia Vaness-Collins (NSW) Ben Vines (NSW).

Adaptive Men's Single: Dominic Monypenny (Tas).

AOC