Rowing updates Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Qualification

1.       Americas Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta
The Americas Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta, scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last April 2020, was cancelled. Planning is underway for the event to again be hosted in Rio de Janeiro, with the new provisional dates of 28 to 31 January 2021. The Brazilian Rowing Confederation, with the support of the Brazilian government, and in collaboration with the World Rowing Federation, FISA, is working towards these dates to host the event. A deadline of 28 October 2020 has been set to make the definitive decision on whether to confirm the event. A pre-regatta training camp to start on the 23 January has been proposed and will be confirmed, if possible, at the same time as the decision is taken in October 2020. 

2.       Asia and Oceania Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta
The Asia and Oceania Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta, scheduled to take place in Chungju, Korea last April 2020, was cancelled. This regatta is provisionally foreseen to take place in April 2021 but, at the moment, no venue is confirmed. The next update on establishing a venue and dates for this regatta is scheduled for no later than 15 October 2020. A pre-regatta training camp is also being discussed with potential hosts.

3.       European Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta
The European Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta, originally scheduled for April 2020, is now confirmed to take place in Varese, Italy from 5 to 7 April 2021. A pre-regatta training camp is also being discussed.

4.       Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta
The Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta, scheduled to take place last April 2020, is now confirmed to take place in Gavirate, Italy from 7 to 9 May 2021.

5.       Final Olympic Qualification Regatta
The Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, scheduled to take place in May 2020, is now confirmed to take place in Lucerne, Switzerland from 16 to 18 May 2021.

6.       African Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta
The African Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta took place in Tunis, Tunisia in October 2019. All qualified boats from the regatta are confirmed. In addition, given that this qualification event will now have been held around 20 months prior to the Games, the restriction on National Olympic Committees (NOC) which qualified a crew at this event to use the athlete/s who qualified the boat at this qualification regatta at the Games in the same event has been lifted. This only applies to this specific Continental Qualification Regatta, and not to the remaining Continental Qualification Regattas that are still to take place.

Olympic and Paralympic qualification documents

a.       Olympic Qualification document – Please note the most recent change, whereby two paragraphs have been added to the section regarding the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR):

o   If an NOC intends to attempt to qualify a crew at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR) using a rower or rowers who have qualified a boat at a Continental Qualification regatta and plans to have the rower or rowers only compete at the Olympic Games in the crew that qualifies at the FOQR, the NOC and NF must notify FISA by 1 May 2021 (pending confirmation of date of FOQR) so that other NOCs/ NFs can be made aware and thus consider possible impacts on their crew(s) ranking and options to compete at the FOQR / qualify for the Olympics.

o   If an NOC qualifies a crew at the FOQR and subsequently wishes to relinquish a place earned at the Continental Qualification regatta, it must declare this to FISA no later than two weeks after the last day of racing at the FOQR. The relinquished quota place from the FOQR will then be attributed by the FISA Executive Committee to the next best placed crew in that event at the FOQR from the same continent from an NOC/NF that has qualified a maximum of one crew for the Olympic Games and had also taken part in the relevant Continental Qualification Regatta.

This addition allows NFs/NOCs to attempt to qualify a crew boat at the FOQR, but also attempt to qualify a small boat at the Continental Qualification regatta (COQR) with the same athlete/s to try and ensure that they still qualify a boat for the Olympics – on the basis that they would need to relinquish the boat qualified at the COQR if they do not want that athlete/s to compete in both events at the Olympics. For reference, the latest qualification system for rowing can be found here.

b.      Paralympic Qualification document – Please note the most recent changes, where provisions have been added in the event that an upcoming qualification regatta cannot take place:

a.       In case a Continental Qualification Regatta is not held, these continental places will be allocated based on results of eligible NPCs (those NPCs which did not qualify a boat at the 2019 World Rowing Championships) from the results of the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Where there are still open continental places based on the above allocation process above, these will be allocated to the best overall ranked crew from an NPC which would have been eligible for continental qualification places (from any continent) and which have not yet qualified a crew through the continental process above. These places will be allocated based on results from the 2019 World Rowing Championships. If no crews eligible for continental qualification would qualify based on their results from the 2019 WRCH, these slots would be added to the number of Final Paralympic qualification allocation places.

b.       In case the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta is not held, the results from the 2019 World Rowing Championships will be used to rank the top crew in the PR1M1x and PR1W1x, and the top two crews in the PR2Mix2x and PR3Mix4+ (or more if empty continental places have been added to the Final qualification allocation), which have not already qualified a boat in that event.

Please note that this change is only in reference to the Paralympic Games qualification system and does not apply to the Olympic Games qualification system.

For reference, the latest qualification system for para rowing can be found here.

c.       Upcoming Para rowing classification opportunities –

a.       Para rowing classification for athletes with a physical impairment will be offered at:

–       2020 European Rowing Championships (Poznan, POL)

–       All Continental Qualification Regattas

–       Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta (Gavirate, ITA)

–       2021 World Rowing Cup III (Sabaudia, ITA)

–  2021 World Rowing Championships (Shanghai, CHN)

b.       Para Rowing classification for athletes with a visual impairment will be offered at:

–      Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta (Gavirate, ITA)

–      2021 World Rowing Championships (Shanghai, CHN)