Six things every rowing fan should be excited for in 2024

2023 was a year with some amazing moments, from the inclusion of the Beach Sprint Rowing discipline to the Los Angeles 28 Olympics to the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade and the first opportunity for crews to qualify their boats for Paris. Now that we’ve hit the New Year, we’re already flying towards what has the makings of a unforgettable new season. So, what does 2024 have in store? Here are 6 things to get excited about this season.

The Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics

Et c’est parti! 2024 is the year where Olympic and Paralympic dreams will materialise for 600 or so rowers. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games regatta will be held at the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne, starting on July 27 for the Olympics, and on August 30 for the Paralympics. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games by one year, the Olympic cycle was shorter, but certainly very exciting, with thrilling races and great stories around our sport. We can’t wait to see the debut of the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls, the French performances on home waters, and the roar of the full grandstands for all finals. Olympic and Paralympic rowing at its finest.

The “Road to Paris” continues

But to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics, you first need to qualify. After the 2023 World Rowing Championships, and the African Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta last year, there will be four more opportunities for athletes to secure their spot for the Paris 2024 Olympics or Paralympics: The Americas Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March ; the Asia & Oceania Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta in Chungju, Korea, in April ; the European Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta in Szeged, Hungary, in April; and in May, the most-anticipated regatta of the year after the Olympics : the Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. Often referred to as the “regatta of death”, the Rotsee will be the very last opportunity for crews to qualify for the Olympics and Paralympics – where dreams can become true, and the road to Paris can end.

The Versa Challenge is back

After a very successful first edition last year in Toronto, the World Rowing Versa Challenge is back this year on the occasion of the 2023 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept 2, in Prague, Czechia. And good news : The first-ever winners of this multi-challenge competition format introduced by World Rowing last year in Canada, will look to retain their position as top overall indoor rowers – Elizabeth Gilmore and Joel Naukkarinen will be present in Czechia on 23-24 February. The Versa will test all the skills and strengths required of indoor rowers, exposing them to new and unfamiliar race formats. Competitors may or may not be informed about the race formats in advance of the WRICH, and should train to be prepared for any challenge. The five events of the Versa Challenge will be interspersed with all the other events over the weekend. Don’t miss it!

Beach Sprint Rowing will reach new heights

It is now official – Beach Sprint Rowing will make its debut on the Olympic scene in Los Angeles. A fantastic news for a discipline that has been on the rise for a few years now. Last year in Barletta, Italy – a few weeks before the announcement by the IOC – some of the boat classes at the 2023 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals saw a record number of entries, showing the growing interest across the globe for this fast-paced, super-entertaining discipline of Coastal Rowing. No doubt that the 2024 edition of the Beach Sprint Finals, in Genoa, Italy, will attract more and more athletes – we could potentially see, as we did after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games – a few Olympians giving it a go at Beach Sprint Rowing!

The second edition of the “Mega Worlds” 

The Olympic and Paralympic year, also means the return of the “Mega Worlds” – the combined World Rowing Under 19, Under 23 and Senior Championships (for non-Olympic and Paralympic boat classes). This will be the second edition of the event after 2016 – it was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 global pandemic – and it will be hosted by St Catharines in Canada, home of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. The World Rowing Championships were held twice before in St Catharines (in 1970 and 1999) and to accommodate World Rowing’s 2024 event, the annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, will be held a week early than usual and two weeks prior to the World Championships, providing a unique opportunity for international crews seeking race experience on the course. At the very heart of a nation’s and a continent’s rowing identity, St Catharines is ready and eager to welcome the world once again.

50 years of Women’s World Championships 

2024 will also mark 50 years of Women’s World Championships in rowing, with the first edition taking place on the Rotsee in Lucerne in 1974.  At the time, Women were only offered six boat classes to the men’s 11, and competed over a distance of 1000m. We’ve come a long way, with women and men now being offered the same number of boat classes at every level of World Rowing Championships – and, since Tokyo, at the Olympic Games too – and racing on the same distance.