Fiji and Nepal become FISA’s newest rowing nations

Setting up a national rowing federation in Nepal has been a long-term project of Thakur Gaire, now President of the Nepali Rowing Association, and Som Raj Paneru, the now Secretary General. After trying out rowing during a military duty in India, Paneru realised that with its many lakes Nepal would be well-suited to the sport of rowing.

The Asian Rowing Federation is supporting an initial training programme in Nepal with the objective of helping it set up its first rowing teams for the Asian Rowing Championships (two female rowers and two male rowers) and the Asian Rowing Junior Championships (four rowers), as well as its first under-17 team of one male and one female rower.

Currently, the Nepali federation is focusing on recruiting rowers from the police, the army as well as at universities and schools. It has also identified lakes that could serve as training locations or regatta venues in the future. In an effort to assemble the necessary equipment for training, the federation is aiming to raise $8-10,000USD.

A short-term goal of the Nepali rowing community is to medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, later followed by qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Regatta.

Fiji is a leader in many sports in the Oceania region and has a strong existing tradition of outrigger canoe with which FISA is already collaborating.  They sent their first athlete, single sculler Kesaia Ucuna, to the 2016 FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in Chungju, Korea.

“FISA will be working with the Outrigger Association and the National Olympic Committee to look at the best way to establish a grass roots strategy and build on it from there,” says FISA’s Development Manager Sheila Stephens-Desbans.

“There is huge potential for the successful development of a sustainable rowing operation in Fiji,” says Lee Spear, FISA Continental Representative for Oceania. “That is likely to benefit young Fijian women in particular who do not have the same sporting opportunities as their male counterparts.”

The initial assessment of local conditions points fairly conclusively that there should be an initial concentration on coastal rowing as against Olympic class (flat water) rowing in Fiji.