Water Wardens by Rowing - A partnership between World Rowing and the Federation Francaise d'Aviron

Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself,…

-Antoine de Saint Exupery

Water Wardens by Rowing was officially launched during the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Paris, France. A collaboration project between the Federation Francaise d’Aviron and World Rowing and co-financed by the European Union, the project will monitor 400 French Rowing clubs, and is supported by, amongst others, the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA), the IUCN, Sports4Nature…

Its main objectives are to raise awareness by making each Rowing community member responsible and aware, preserve the aquatic environment, support the practice of rowing and to observe the evolution of the practice in connection with climate issues.

The project includes four main axes:

• Support for event organisers signatories of the charter of 15 eco-responsible events (the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Paris, France, and the 2023 European Rowing Coastal and Beach Sprint Championships in La-Seyne-sur-Mer, France)
• Creation of a “climate observatory” application to evaluate the number of days when rowing has been restricted or impossible for climate issues
• Creation of educational tools and animation of a “Water Wardens by Rowing” community
• Final conference with European organisers of international rowing competitions

The project was introduced during a conference held at the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Paris by Patricia Lambert, Strategic Advisor for Sustainability at World Rowing. Christian Vandenberghe, President of the Federation Francaise d’Aviron, re-affirmed the importance of such a collaboration not only for the Rowing community, but for the future of our planet. He was followed by World Rowing Executive Director Vincent Gaillard, and Lucy Polhil of WWF, who both emphasised the relationship between all entities and their entire support to the project.