World Rowing Congress Sets Course for the Future with New Athlete Representatives, Council Appointments, Event Attributions and Olympic Preparations

AMSTERDAM – The future direction of international rowing took shape today as the World Rowing community gathered in Amsterdam for the 2026 World Rowing Ordinary Congress after the World Rowing Championships at the Bosbaan.

The Congress began with a look at the 2026 Worlds’ notable successes, including advances in athlete and spectator experiences. Delegates from World Rowing’s Member Federations then came together to make key governance decisions, elect new leaders, shape the international event calendar, and receive updates on preparations for the major events like the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, 2027 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Congress then spent the afternoon session in several spirited and collaborative strategic discussions about how to best move the sport forward.

Looking Towards a New Olympic Era

World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland presented his report to Congress, covering the organisation’s work across sport, governance, the Olympic Movement and Olympic strategy, as well as the future of the Olympic programme.

The Congress also received an update on World Rowing’s approach to the IOC’s new policy on protecting the female athlete category. World Rowing is preparing its implementation framework for Olympic qualification events, with the organisation currently planning to introduce the relevant rule changes during 2027.

World Rowing Commission Chairs Reappointed

Congress also held elections for five World Rowing Commission Chair positions.

The candidates presented for election were Henk-Jan Zwolle (NED) for Chair of the Competitive Rowing Commission, Eva Szanto (HUN) for Chair of the Events Commission, Ronald Chen (USA) for Chair of the Masters Rowing Commission, Rebecca Thomas Orr (CAN) for Chair of the Para Rowing Commission and Angela Alonso Fernandez (ESP) for Chair of the Umpiring Commission.  Congress delegates re-elected the five members to the World Rowing Council for a further four-year term.

These elections form part of the governance framework that will guide World Rowing through the next phase of its development.

World Rowing Membership Update

The World Rowing Member Federations granted the Bahamas provisional membership. Once confirmed by the Bahamas Olympic Committee, World Rowing will count 159 Member Federations.

World Rowing Events Calendar Takes Shape

Congress officially confirmed several important future event attributions, continuing the expansion and development of World Rowing’s international competition calendar.

The 2027 World Rowing Under 19 and Under 23 Championships will be held together in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. This will bring the two age-group World Rowing Championships into one major event.

The 2027 World Rowing Cup calendar will include Racice, Czechia. Discussions are taking place with Szeged, Hungary, to hold a 2028 World Rowing Cup before the Racice.

For 2028, Racice has been awarded the Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta and World Rowing Cup II. Duisburg, Germany, will then host the year’s next World Rowing Cup over 1500m.

The 2029 World Rowing Masters Regatta was awarded to Asunción, Paraguay, taking the global Masters community to South America.

World Rowing announced the launch of the World Rowing Beach Sprints Rowing Series, with events attributed to Turkiye and China for 2027 and 2028. Antalya will host the first Beach Sprints Series event from 26-28 March 2027, with Yangjiang hosting the next 2027 event, which is expected to take place in April or May 2027. The exact dates are being finalised with consideration given to tides and other coastal conditions.

Major Events Updates: Lucerne 2027, LA28, Brisbane 2032

The Congress also looked ahead to the major Olympic and World Rowing destinations.

On the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, the participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were announced. The participating NOCs are: Algeria (ALG), Argentina (ARG), American Samoa (ASA), Australia (AUS), Austria (AUT), Brazil (BRA), China (CHN), Cyprus (CYP), Czechia (CZE), Egypt (EGY), El Salvador (ESA), Spain (ESP), Estonia (EST), Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Great Britain (GBR), Germany (GER), Greece (GRE), Hong Kong, China (HKG), Honduras (HON), Hungary (HUN), Ireland (IRL), Iraq (IRQ), Italy (ITA), Japan (JPN), Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait (KUW), Latvia (LAT), Lithuania (LTU), Mexico (MEX), Paraguay (PAR), Peru (PER), Portugal (POR), Romania (ROU), South Africa (RSA), Senegal (SEN), Switzerland (SUI), Thailand (THA), Togo (TOG), Tunisia (TUN), Turkiye (TUR), Uganda (UGA), Ukraine (UKR), United States (USA), Vanuatu (VAN), Zimbabwe (ZIM).

Lucerne presented its plans for the 2027 World Rowing Championships, returning the sport’s premier event to the Rotsee – a venue with more than 120 years of rowing history. Lucerne has previously hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1962, 1974, 1982 and 2001. The 2027 Championships will also place rowing at the heart of the city, with a Fan Village combining racing with live entertainment, food and cultural activities.

Attention also turned to the LA28 Olympics, where preparations are progressing for rowing and Para Rowing at Marine Stadium in Long Beach, and Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints at Belmont Shore. Part of the same competition cluster in Southern California, the two rowing venues are 2.4 kilometres apart. Event testing is planned for September 2027 as part of preparations for the Games.

Rowing will compete at Marine Stadium from 15–22 July 2028, while the Beach Sprints Rowing are scheduled for 24–25 July. Para Rowing will take place at Marine Stadium in August as part of the Paralympic programme.

Strategic Discussions | Planning for the Future

The decisions form part of World Rowing’s wider strategic review of its event and competition calendar, including the future development of the World Rowing Cups, World Rowing events attributions and a progression report on the sport’s first global ranking system.

Strategic Events & Calendar Review shapes future competition pathway

World Rowing’s Strategic Events & Calendar Review (SECR) is developing a more connected, sustainable and predictable competition pathway for Classic Rowing, while protecting the discipline’s fundamentals, including 2000m, six-lane racing.

The review has already contributed to changes including a revamped World Rowing Championships programme including mixed boats, revised World Cup intervals and the optimised LA28 programme. Work now focuses on a revised World Rowing Cup structure for 2029–2032, one that creates a stronger link for athletes, crews and countries qualifying for the World Rowing Championships.

World Rowing reviews event attribution amid global pressures

World Rowing is reviewing its Strategic Event Attribution Process (SEAP) as rising event costs, increased scrutiny of public funding, and geopolitical uncertainty create growing challenges for event hosts and Member Federations. The review aims to create a simpler, more sustainable hosting model and broaden the pool of potential hosts through greater engagement with governments, tourism authorities and the private sector.

World Rowing Developing a Global Rankings System

World Rowing is developing a rankings system to connect competitions across the international season and create a clearer pathway between International Regattas, Continental Championships, World Cups and World Championships.

The first working model has been developed with specialist modelling support and is now being tested and refined with stakeholder consultation. The system is intended to strengthen sporting incentives, athlete storytelling and commercial opportunities.

Strengthening the Athlete Voice Within Sport

A strong athlete voice will be at the heart of World Rowing’s next chapter, with Benjamin Pritchard (Great Britain), Valent Sinkovic (Croatia), Logan Ullrich (New Zealand) and Martin Mackovic (Serbia) elected by their fellow athletes in Amsterdam to the World Rowing Athletes’ Commission.

The four elected representatives bring a wealth of experience across Olympic, World Championship and Para Rowing competition to the Commission, which represents athletes in World Rowing’s governance and decision-making structures.

Pritchard, the reigning Paralympic and World Champion in the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls, has established himself as one of Para Rowing’s leading voices and was named the 2025 World Rowing Para Crew of the Year.

Valent Sinkovic is one of the most decorated athletes in modern rowing. He has competed with his brother Martin throughout his career in double sculls and pairs, winning multiple Olympic and World Championship titles.

Mackovic is an Olympian, three-time World Championship medallist and 2026 European champion in the men’s double sculls.  Ullrich is the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist in the men’s coxless four who transitioned to single sculls in 2025.

The new representatives join the Athletes’ Commission at an important moment for the sport, with World Rowing preparing for a new Olympic cycle and continuing to develop its event programme, athlete pathways and global competition calendar.

The Athletes’ Commission election for the coastal rowing representative will take place during the 2026 World Rowing Coastal Championships and Beach Sprint Finals  this October in Qingdao, China.  Following this, the World Rowing Council will appoint five of the candidates to the Athletes’ Committee.

Remembering Rowing Legends

The Congress also paused to remember members of the rowing community who have died since the previous Congress.

Among those remembered was Olaf Tufte (1976–2026), the legendary Norwegian rower and seven-time Olympian. Tufte won two Olympic gold medals in the men’s single sculls, as well as a silver and bronze in the double sculls, and became the first Norwegian to win a World Championship title in the single sculls. He was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal in 2021.

Congress also remembered Davide Tizzano (1968–2025), the Italian two-time Olympic champion who won gold in the men’s double sculls and quadruple sculls. Tizzano was also a Junior World Champion and served as President of the Italian Rowing Federation.

Their contribution to rowing was honoured with a moment of remembrance at the opening of the Congress.