FISA 2020 Ordinary and Extraordinary Congresses discussion details

2020 Ordinary Congress :
• Election of a new chair for the Para Rowing Commission. This follows the appointment of the current chair, Fay Ho, to the Council position of Continental Representative for Asia.
• The African Rowing Federation (FASA) is seeking recognition as FISA’s Continental Rowing Confederation for Africa. Approval of Congress is required.
• The 2021 budget has been published for approval by Congress. The budget and four-year financial planning process has been very challenging in these uncertain times, considering the impact of Covid-19 on finances

2020 Extraordinary Congress :
• FISA Statutes and Rules – a number of continuous improvement proposals have been put forward for approval by Congress.
• Key changes:
– the integrity of the sport in terms of gender equality, diversity, safeguarding and the safety of participants.
– creation of commissions for the disciplines of coastal and indoor rowing.
– Athletes’ Commission membership and new election process proposal
• Paris 2024 Olympic Games – a vote will take place on the event programme proposal to be presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board. The key discussion is on the inclusion of coastal rowing.

This is the first time that the Ordinary and Extraordinary Congresses will be staged as virtual Congresses and is the consequence of the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The use of the Lumi secure voting system and the Zoom video conferencing platfom has made this important event possible.

Delegates from FISA’s 156 member federations have been invited, as well as the FISA recognised Continental Rowing Confederations and Member Groupings.

A consultation process has taken place over the past two years, including in the last months several explanatory video publications and Member Federation consultation meetings.

Both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Congresses will be live streamed on World Rowing’s YouTube channel and regular updates will posted on World Rowing Twitter.