BOSTON, MA - Elite boat builder Filippi and US Rowing have signed an agreement designating Filippi as official equipment supplier to the US National Rowing Team. The contract is effective immediately, and expires at the end of 2010.

Under the agreement, Filippi will supply a fleet of 18 shells, of all sizes and weight classes, to the US Rowing Team for domestic use. These boats will allow the nations' top athletes to train and race in world-class equipment while they prepare for international competition. Filippi will also provide boats for use by the US Team at international regattas.

“USRowing feels fortunate to be able to partner with Filippi in providing hulls for our National team to train and compete with,” according to Matt Imes, USRowing's High Performance Director. “Filippi has been a great partner with USRowing in the past and we look forward to working with them as we prepare for the upcoming 2012 games in London”.

Filippi had previously sponsored the US Team from 2001 to 2003, providing regatta support and boats and equipment at the world championships. Due to their impressive track record, Filippis are often the most frequently used boats at international regattas. Additionally, many athletes race their way onto the US National Team by winning trials regattas in the Italian-made boats.

“The US Team will now be able to train in world-class equipment while they're home, and jump right into an identical boat when racing abroad,” says Alex Selvig, president of Elite Rowing, Inc. the US distributor of Filippi shells. “They'll be next to other Filippis on international starting lines. It's our hope that this will put them on an equal footing with other nations when it comes to the quality, confidence, and level of comfort they have in their boats.”

Filippi is a manufacturer of high performance racing shells, based in Tuscany, Italy. Athletes from over fifty countries have raced Filippis and won hundreds of medals in World Championship and Olympic competition since 1986. The company is an official supplier to the Italian Rowing Federation (FIC), as well as an official partner of the International Rowing Federation (FISA). It has been awarded ISO 9000 certification for outstanding quality control in manufacturing. The firm is represented in the US by their exclusive agent, Elite Rowing, Inc., based in Boston.