The 2024 World Rowing Coastal Championships & Beach Sprint Finals go to Genoa, Italy

Upon the recommendation of the World Rowing Coastal Commission, the World Rowing Council recently voted to attribute the 2024 World Rowing Coastal Championships & Beach Sprint Finals to Genoa, Italy.

Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean Sea. It hosts one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, the Rowing Club Genovese, founded in 1890. Italy will organise the World Rowing Coastal Championships for the fourth time, having played host to the event in San Remo in 2008 and in Bari in 2011. The exact dates of the event will be confirmed at a later stage. Earlier this year, the Council attributed the 2023 World Rowing Coastal Championships & Beach Sprint Finals to Barletta, in the Apulia region of Italy.

“Stretched out along 30 kilometres of Ligurian Sea coastline, Genoa will provide the perfect stage and a fantastic atmosphere for our competition.. We thank the Italian Rowing Federation and the Organising Committee for their efforts in developing Beach Sprints and Coastal Rowing in Italy l and look forward to working with them on producing an exciting event for athletes and fans alike” said World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland.

“It is with great satisfaction that we will be hosting the World Rowing Coastal Championships & Beach Sprint Finals in Genoa in 2024  – when the city will be entitled European Capital of Sport, added Giuseppe Abbagnale, president of the Italian Rowing Federation. Italy will host this important event for two consecutive years. Therefore, a sincere thank you goes to all the people who believed in our projects and to our territories and the hospitality they will offer to the National Federations and rowers attending the event. We look forward to welcoming you on our beaches.”

Coastal rowing is the extreme version of the sport, and perfect for adventure seekers who enjoy the thrill of the unknown rowing conditions and beautiful coastal scenery. It is one of the fastest growing communities of rowers, and is particularly accessible to rowers based in locations where flat water is not nearby.

The format of Beach Sprints has been formally proposed to the International Olympic Committee for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A decision from the IOC is expected in the month of June. It is also included in the core programme for the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia and the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.