World Rowing Tour goes to Canada for 2022

The 2022 World Rowing Tour is heading to Canada. World Rowing and Ontario Adventure Rowing are pleased to announce that the Tour will be on the beautiful waters of the Bays and Islands of South Eastern Ontario, Canada.

Planned for September 2022, the World Rowing Tour will host more than 50 long-distance adventure rowers from around the world. Teams of rowers will travel from Brighton to Mallorytown over the course of a week, experiencing the beauty of the Bay of Quinte and the 1000 Islands.

World Rowing, the international governing body for the sport of rowing, supports Rowing for All – the idea that rowing is an accessible touring, recreation and fitness activity for people of all ages and experience. World Rowing’s Coastal Rowing Commission helps organise this week-long tour which goes to a different country each year.

Bays and Islands will be the third World Rowing Tour hosted by Canada, and the first in South Eastern Ontario. The tour is organised by Ontario Adventure Rowing (OAR) and supported by Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA).

The participants, will enjoy breathtaking views from the water in addition to many opportunities to experience this beautiful region and all that it has to offer – from waterfront vistas, beaches and wineries to the cultural heritage as featured recently in Vogue and Condé Nast Traveller magazines. Waterfront festivals held along the way will bring together rowers and spectators while showcasing and celebrating Ontario’s waterways and water sports.

“Our members are so excited to welcome rowers from around the world for this tour,” says Peter Jepson of Ontario Adventure Rowing. “We expect that this tour will elevate the international profile of our region for sport tourism, and will showcase the Bay of Quinte and Thousand Islands as a great place for recreation, for young and old alike.”

The rowers will be in coxed quadruple sculls: boats with four people sculling with two oars each and one person steering.  These boats are designed with watertight compartments and are virtually unsinkable.

Opening ceremonies will be held on 10 September, 2022 in Belleville, Ontario. Rowing will commence 11 September with 17 September being the last day on the water, followed by a closing ceremony held that evening in Kingston, Ontario.

The Bays and Islands Tour will be run by volunteers, mainly members from OAR and rowing/water sport clubs along the route.

Learn more about the Bays and Islands World Rowing Tour here.