| The
Nautical Club of Thessaloniki was founded in 1931 and is one of the
oldest nautical athletic associations in Greece. |
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During
the early years, rowing was the only sport offered. Toward the
end of the 1940s N.C.Th. achieved the title of "Most Winning Club" and sent
crews both to the London Olympics in 1948 and Helsinki in 1952. N.C.Th.'s
outstanding role in rowing has lead many times to the title of "Most Winning
Club", the continuous recruitment of athletes to the national team and distinctions
in international championships (bronze medal in the Rowing Worlds of 1998, silver medals in the Rowing Worlds of 2005 and 2006). |
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In the
1950s, the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki came to include sailing
in its activities. Almost immediately, it began to organize sailing races,
to participate in national championships and other local meets. The club
quickly gained a reputation as one of the most active sailing associations
playing a prominent role both in Greece and beyond. Distinguished sailors
represent Greece in international races and since 1992 in Olympic Games
(Sidney 2000: 470 sailors finished 8th Olympic Winners) and gained gold and silver both in the 470 Worlds of 1995 and 2002 and in the FINN-Junior Worlds of 1999 and 2000. |
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In the
1970s a group of experienced sailors spearheaded the creation of
an offshore sailing department which gave the opportunity for older members
to participate in nautical activities. |
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Towards
the end of the 1970s the club, wanting to offer something to its
remaining members established a tennis division with the construction of
five courts and started a small athletic team. |
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As an athletic
association N.C.Th. organizes intramural games on a yearly basis and also
conducts Greek and international championships. It has even come to initiate
international races, the foremost of which are the "International Rowing
Regatta", the «Alexander the Great Cup» (former Tzeni Grammalidou Cup) for Olympic class sail boats and the
international offshore sailing week "North Aegean Cup". |
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Since
1974 N.C.Th. is offering an offshore sailing school, thus giving
the residents of greater Thessaloniki the opportunity and the resources
to be involved with sailing and the sea in general. In the beginning of
the 1990s N.C.Th. started a sailing school for children, which apart from
its primary function also acts as a preparatory school for the sailing division. |
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During the first
thirty years N.C.Th. was housed in a rented building until 1964 when it
moved to its own premises which include offices, club rooms for members
and athletes, boat houses, an indoor rowing exercise pool, a gym, a marina,
tennis courts, a restaurant and snack-bar. |
| N.C.Th.
has about 600 regular and athletic members. |
