Laura Chancellor will represent Australia for the first time when she competes at the world junior championships in Prague

Laura Chancellor will represent Australia for the first time when she competes at the world junior championships to be staged in Prague.

Ascot rower Laura Chancellor will represent Australia for the first time when she competes at the world junior championships to be staged in Prague starting this week.

The past student of both Ascot State School and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School said she would be using the event to do her best while learning to further ­development her skills.

“My goals, in addition to performing the best I can, are to make the most of this experience and learn as much as I can from competing at new level of racing,’’ Chancellor said.

“In terms of my long-term goals, although I’d like to say that I aspire to make a senior A level team at some stage, I do like to take things one step at a time as this is my first year in junior ­rowing.

“ I think it’s still a little too early for me to be worrying about making these teams.’’

Chancellor started rowing in 2013 when she entered year 8 at St Margaret’s — a school which has current Australian senior rowers Maddie and Jacinta Edmunds as old girls.

“At the time I didn’t really know what the sport was but for joining the rowing team we got a bright orange hat and that was just about enough to convince me to try it out,’’ Chancellor said.

She said she loved the rowing community which was “unlike any other sporting community I had ever been involved in’’.

“I think the support and enthusiasm that all the girls, coaches and parents made the experience so much more enjoyable,’’ Chancellor said.

“I also really enjoyed the variety of physical challenges that came with the sport as there were so many different cross-training methods in addition to rowing the actual boats.’’

Chancellor laid foundations for Australian selection at the national rowing championships earlier this year when, representing the Toowong Rowing Club, she placed second in the under-19 single scull, first in the under-19 double scull and first in the under-19 quad. Her Queensland VIII came second in the interstate youth eight competition.

She also rows for her current school, Somerville House.