Australia's best rowers will be looking to lock in spots for August's world championships when they contest the national selection regatta from Friday to Sunday at the International Regatta Centre in Penrith.

Athletes challenging at the trials include Olympic gold medallist Drew Ginn, who signalled his return to competitive rowing last month with some solid form at the Australian Rowing Championships.

Members of last year's world rowing Championship gold medal, winning crews in the women's eight, the men's coxed pair and the women's coxless four will also be competing.

Rowing Australia's High Performance Director, Noel Donaldson said, "These selection trials not only determine who will represent Australia this year, but we are already looking ahead to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and striving to make those Games one of the most successful ever for rowing."

The Senior World Championships will be held at Eton, England from 20-27 August, with the team named by 2 May.

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 won silver, women’s quad sculls won bronze as did the men’s eight.

Tomkins has also confirmed his intention to make history by competing at his sixth Olympic Games in Beijing.

Tomkins, who will turn 43 during the Beijing Games, has been speaking of returning for sometime with his decision sealed after some recent outstanding physiological testing in Canberra.

He has resumed training but hasn't raced competitively since the Athens where he won his third Olympic gold.

The Victorian will once again team with Ginn in Beijing, but the pair may become a four, rekindling memories of the Oarsome Foursome.

Tomkins is leaning towards joining Ginn, Duncan Free and Bo Hanson in a four at the 2008 Games.

Following the Penrith Regatta the 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, they 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, UK from 20 to 27 August.

AOC