Rowing showcase at IOC's Olympic Esports Week 2023 embodies the natural evolution of sport

World Rowing, the governing body of the Olympic sport of Rowing, is pleased to announce its participation in the Olympic Esports Week 2023, starting this week in Singapore, in collaboration with its exhibition partners EXR and Rowcave to present the sport’s latest gamified offerings to a global audience.

Indoor Rowing, one of the three disciplines of the Olympic sport of Rowing, will be featured at IOC’s Olympic Esports Week 2023 as exhibition sport in the “free-to-play” zone of this global event.

Across the four-day festival, which will enjoy thousands of on-site visitors, the World Rowing zone will be accessible to the public, to discover and get involved with Indoor Rowing. Led from on-site by Olympic athletes and Gold Medallists such as Will Satch MBE (GBR), Matthew Brittain (RSA), and Joan Poh (SGP), World Rowing, EXR and Rowcave invite the millions of rowers from around the world to join the excitement. In addition, the Chair of World Rowing’s Indoor Rowing Commission, Filip Ljubicic, will contribute to the high-profile panel discussion “Gamification of Sports: the next level of competition”.

Says World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland: “The 2023 Olympic Esports Week is a fantastic opportunity for our sport to demonstrate its attractiveness to new audiences and participants globally. Indoor Rowing is a key part of our future, and being in Singapore, at the heart of innovation, alongside the top publishers will help us significantly increase awareness and excitement about this dynamic and fun side of Rowing with its new competition formats and virtual opportunities.”

Adds Vincent Gaillard, Executive Director of World Rowing: “Fully embracing the modern trends of Healthy Living, Connected Fitness and Sport Gamification, Indoor Rowing is enjoying exponential, worldwide growth. We are excited about the journey ahead of us and activating all related opportunities for the overall development of our sport and World Rowing’s partners.“

In Singapore, World Rowing will be joined by two of the most compelling developers of fascinating gamified solutions in the fast-growing Indoor Rowing ecosystem.

Salty Lemon Entertainment is the Belgian game development studio producing the virtual Indoor Rowing application EXR. EXR is the app that brings the outdoors to home gyms worldwide. As rowers explore virtual Rowing hotspots like Boston’s Charles River with their own avatars, they scull alongside friends, unlock achievements, and beat challenges. To scratch rowers’ competitive itch, a racing mode is in development. The app is available for Apple, Android, and Windows devices and seamlessly integrates with all Bluetooth Rowing machines. Explains Alfred Campenaerts, CEO of Salty Lemon Entertainment: “EXR opens the doors of Indoor Rowing to everyone, from top athletes striving for new records to novices looking for a fun way to get fit. EXR is the home of a passionate Rowing community that is united by their love for the sport and the pursuit of their personal fitness goals.”

Rowcave, a bespoke, immersive, and performance-enhancing Rowing studio which simulates real world conditions to extract the very best from athletes. Rowcave is an immersive and performance-enhancing Rowing simulator which replicates real world conditions to extract the best from athletes. Through stunning wrap-around visuals, advanced Rowing machines, and the latest in extended reality technologies, Rowcave is the next step in indoor training. Says Theo Rigden, Founder of Rowcave: “Rowcave is a new kind of indoor training tool, created to empower individuals to reach their best levels of performance. Athletes can train together in beautiful and detailed environments which immerse them in some of the world’s best waterways – all from the convenience of their clubs, gyms or boathouses.”

 About:

The Olympic Esports Week 2023 is a four-day festival showcasing the best of virtual sports. The inaugural event, created by the IOC in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Sport Singapore and the Singapore National Olympic Committee (SNOC) will take place at Singapore’s Suntec Conference and Exhibition Centre from the 22nd to the 25th of June.

The Olympic Esports Week 2023 will showcase the best of virtual sports across exhibiting the latest innovations, panel discussions, education sessions and show matches. A highlight of the Olympic Esports Week 2023 will be the first live, in-person finals of the Olympic Esports Series 2023.