Surf, sand, and the path to quality for the 2027 World Rowing Beach Sprint Series

Get ready for sand, surf, and sprint racing! Here’s the inside track on how teams and athletes qualify for the highly anticipated 2027 World Rowing Beach Sprint Series.

The 2027 Series will hit the beach with two spectacular stages. Racing kicks off in Antalya, Turkiye (27–28 March) before moving to Yangjiang, China (14–15 April). But before we get there, here’s how teams and athletes qualify for the 16-team field.

Qingdao 2026: The Starting Pen

Athletes can start booking their tickets to the 2027 Series at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, currently underway in Qingdao, China. As the principal qualification event, Qingdao will crown the top seven Member Federations, who will automatically lock in their spots for next year’s Series.

How the Points Stack Up

To figure out who takes those top seven spots, we’re combining results across the three Olympic boat classes:
• Women’s Solo (W1x)
• Men’s Solo (M1x)
• Mixed Double (Mix2x)

Points from all three classes combine to create each Federation’s overall qualification score. Here is how the points break down by final position in each class:
• 1st: 25 pts | 2nd: 20 pts | 3rd: 14 pts | 4th: 11 pts | 5th: 9 pts
• 6th: 7 pts | 7th: 6 pts | 8th: 5 pts | 9th: 4 pts | 10th: 3 pts
• 11th: 2 pts | 12th–16th: 1 pt

Also Racing for Individual Accolades

It’s not just about team spots; individual athletes also race for personal glory. Any athlete who podiums in the Men’s or Women’s Solo, or the Mixed Double, and rows for a qualified Federation, earns automatic individual qualification for the 2027 WRBSS.

Because the Series spans two stages, these individually qualified athletes are expected to race in both Antalya and Yangjiang. To keep the competition fair, substitutions are only allowed for medical reasons. The rest of the team? That’s up to the Member Federation to select.

We’ll announce the qualified Federations immediately after the final race in Qingdao. From there, they’ll need to sign a Participation Commitment Agreement to confirm it officially. Plus, keep an eye out for our individually qualified athletes—we’ll be grabbing them for post-race photos and interviews to hype up their 2027 campaign!

Finishing the Grid: The Continental, Host, and Wild Card Pathways

Crack the top seven in Qingdao, and you’re on the tour. But what if your federation misses out on those initial spots? Don’t paddle away just yet. Here is how the rest of the standard 16-team field gets filled, ensuring a truly global showdown on the sand.

Continental Qualification: Representing Your Region

World Rowing is keeping it global. Up to five additional spots—one for each continent—can be earned via continental qualification. If a continent doesn’t fill its quota through an approved event, that spot rolls back to World Rowing for a Wild Card allocation.

Host Nation & Wild Cards: The Final Pieces of the Puzzle

Every great tour needs a home crowd. Hosting a Series event guarantees the host nation a team, which it can select through its own internal procedures to represent it on home waters.

To round out the standard 16-team field, World Rowing will award up to three Wild Card entries to federations ready to make a splash on the international stage.

The Antalya Last-Chance Regatta: A Bonus Round

Missed out on the standard 16-team field but still hungry to race? We’ve got a bonus round just for you. The Antalya organisers will host a special qualification regatta. This is the ultimate “last-chance” opportunity for Member Federations that didn’t qualify. Up to eight additional teams can battle their way through this regatta to earn a spot in the Antalya stage of the Series. It’s a stage-specific ticket, meaning these teams will race purely for glory in Antalya.

Building the Ultimate Beach Sprint Squad

Next year’s Series introduces a unique, high-energy National Team structure. Each qualified squad will field exactly six members:
• 4 Racing Athletes (2 Women, 2 Men)
• 2 Team Support Members (1 Male, 1 Female)

Why the specific gender balance for the support crew? It ensures everyone can pitch in with boat handling and provides crucial backup if injuries strike.

On the water, the four athletes will tackle the Solo events before pairing up to form two Mixed Double crews. Finally, they’ll unite for the Mixed Relay—the ultimate team showdown that decides the competition’s collective National Team component.

Chasing the Super Series Award

The 2027 Beach Sprint Series isn’t just about bragging rights; it offers over CHF 100,000 in prize money. Each stage features a CHF 45,000 prize pool split across the Men’s and Women’s Solo and Mixed Double events.

Then there’s the ultimate prize. That’s the Super Series Award. Teams will accumulate points across both Antalya and Yangjiang to build an overall Series classification. The Federation that leads the sand and claims the highest overall team score will lift the prestigious WRBSS trophy and take home CHF 25,000.

The stage is set, the rules are clear, and the countdown to Qingdao 2026 is officially on. Let’s see which athletes and countries carve their names into the sand and claim the first spots for the 2027 World Rowing Beach Sprint Series!