New progression system gets thumbs-up from rowers

The 2025 European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv was the first regatta to use the new progression system, introduced following the World Rowing Quadrennial Congress in March 2025.

The new system has replaced repechages for those crews which fail to directly qualify to the next round from heats with a ‘fastest loser’ system. Crews progress – or are placed into minor finals – depending on their heat times. The top two boats from each heat qualify directly for the next round.

In Plovdiv, that has meant some crews have missed out on finals despite finishing third in their heats, while others have made it through with a fourth-place finish. Those included Great Britain’s women’s double scull, whose fourth-place finish in the first heat was 0.26 seconds quicker than third-placed Lithuania in the following race.

Stroke Vwairé Obukohwo said afterwards: “With this new progression system, it really is anyone’s game. I remember Freya (Keto) shouting ‘time!’ in the last few hundred, so we pushed it and by some miracle, we were on the right side of it today.”

Dutch single sculler Benthe Boonstra also came out the right side of the heats on the clock, after finishing third in her race, and went on to qualify for the final.

Boonstra said she thought the progression system was working well.

“Now from the first race on you really have to put everything into it, there’s no second chances. But I also have to say that I was a bit more nervous – if you make a mistake, there is no second chance. It’s good for the rowing, but for the nervousness beforehand it was worse,” she said.

Her opinions are shared by the rest of the boat park, with athletes positive about the new programme.

“I like it. I think it’s better without repechages, they weren’t attractive races. The best will progress like before,” said Croatia’s Valent Sinkovic.

“The racing is better because everyone on the start just knows they need to go max, no calculations, and from that point it’s easier. For us in a new four, it’s the first race, but we know we need to go max, it just happens, so it’s easier mentally.”

Great Britain’s Lauren Henry said: “It means that the heat is really meaningful, and you have to go gun to tape unless you’re winning. Repechages were quite unique to rowing, but a lot of other sports do adopt a fastest loser system and I quite like it. It gives a bit of an edge to the heat, they’re not just a warm-up into the regatta, they’re actually really important.”

The Netherlands’ Simon van Dorp said: “For me it’s a little early to have a full opinion on it, but it’s exciting, it’s something new. So far it doesn’t seem to be too unfair, which was one of the concerns. You have to be awake from the first stroke, you don’t have a safety net anymore.”

Marian Enache, from the Romanian men’s double sculls crew, said he thought the best crews would continue to progress – but added that the system allows better recovery for athletes.

“We save time, we can rest a lot, so for me and all the athletes this is not a problem,” he explained, with Javier Garcia of the Spanish men’s pair adding that the new system evens out the playing field as all athletes reaching a final will have raced the same number of times, instead of some coming through the repechage.

And the new system is not only good for athletes, but also fans, according to Ireland’s Fiona Murtagh.

“All my family are here and from a spectator point of view they think it’s a lot better, because people are sticking around, looking at the other heats, and they’re looking at the times. It definitely makes for tighter heats and interesting racing,” she said.