2021 World Rowing Ordinary Congress to be held virtually

The 2021 World Rowing Ordinary Congress will be held virtually on 6 November using video-conferencing and online voting technology.

The use of the Lumi secure online electronic voting system and the Zoom video conferencing platform make this event possible. It is the second time that World Rowing has used this technology with the technology used at the 2020 Extraordinary Congress.

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

The new gender criteria for congress delegate eligibility, as approved at the 2020 Extraordinary Congress, comes into effect for the first time at this Congress. This means that for a Member Federation to accredit more than one delegate to the Congress, both genders must be represented in the Member Federation’s delegation.

In accordance with the Statutes and the election cycle the following elections will take place:

• Council elections for the position of President, Vice President & Treasurer
• Council elections for the Chairs of the new Commissions, as approved by the 2020 Extraordinary Congress. These include the Coastal Rowing Commission, Indoor Rowing Commission and the Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Cross-Commission (the latter being a transition from the Women’s Commission)
• Three members of the Council will be elected to the Executive Committee

The 2022 budget has been published for approval by Congress. The budget can be found here. The budget and four-year financial planning process continues to be very challenging in these uncertain times and the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have its impact on both the finances and the wider operation of the organisation.

Online Member Federation consultation meetings were held in October to provide an opportunity for an exchange of information, comments and a Q&A session.

The Ordinary Congress will be live streamed on World Rowing’s YouTube channel (link can be found on the Congress page of our website) and regular updates will posted on World Rowing Twitter.