13 Jul 2013
Rowing will have to wait for the European Games
The purpose of the visit was to assess venues for the possible inclusion of rowing in the inaugural 2015 European Games that are scheduled for June 2015.
The FISA representatives visited the city of Mingechevir, a well-known international training location in the centre of the country which offers 17 kilometers of training water on the Kur river just below the large Lake Mingechevir dam. While the facilities at the training centre in Mingechevir have been recently completely renovated and are world-class, several obstacles prevent it from being offered as a possible venue including the flow in the river, insufficient accommodation and its position for international access, 300 kilometres from Baku.
The second possible location was Lake Khojahasan on the western edge of Baku. It is a four kilometre long lake very near the city centre, in a newly unincorporated area. The government of Azerbaijan has confirmed that there is a well-advanced city development plan for this district of Baku, however, it will not be possible to finish the needed infrastructure development in time for the June 2015 date of the Games. The government is very positive about the possibility of including rowing and water sports on this lake for the future.
Therefore, after extensive investigation and consultation, unfortunately, FISA and the EOC have jointly come to the conclusion that rowing will not be on the programme of the 2015 European Games. However there are good prospects for 2019.
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Notes to Editors:
About the European Games
The European Games is a multi-sport event for elite European athletes and will be held every four years with up to 7,000 athletes expected to participate in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 2015. The European Games was launched following a majority vote of 49 NOCs during the EOC General Assembly in December 2012.
The EOC's original target was for 15 sports to feature in the inaugural edition of the European Games. Due to exceptionally high levels of interest coming from both European and international federations, the number of sports is now under review.
The full European Games Sports Programme will be announced during the third quarter of 2013.
The EOC has received enquiries from a number of European cities wishing to host the 2019 European Games and the EOC will soon start to review the bidding process.
About World Rowing
Founded in 1892, FISA (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron), governs the sport of rowing worldwide. Also known as the World Rowing federation, it is empowered by its member national rowing federations and the International Olympic Committee to be responsible for the development, promotion and governance of the sport of rowing around the globe. Rowing was one of the founding Olympic sports in 1896 and has featured on the programme of every Olympic Games since.