New programme details for World and Olympic rowing events
Potential new event schedules for the Olympic Games, the World Rowing Championships, the World Rowing Under 23 Championships, the World Rowing Junior Championships and the Rowing World Cup series were hot topics for discussion at the recent FISA Council Meeting in Copenagen, says World Rowing’s Official Website.
All aspects of these new schedules, including the feedback of National Federations and Organising Committees, were considered in great detail.
Following the discussions, the Council re-confirmed the decision to stage the finals of the Olympic Rowing Regatta and the World Rowing Championships over four days, starting in 2010 for the World Rowing Championships and 2012 for the Olympic Games. It also confirmed the dates of the Olympic regatta with the reserve day becoming Sunday, 5 August 2012.
The Council also confirmed the decision to shift the junior championship schedule from the current Wednesday through Saturday schedule to a new Thursday through Sunday format. For both the junior and the under-23 championships, the finals of boat classes with 13 or more entries will be held on the Sunday, while those with 12 or fewer entries at the entry deadline will be held on the Saturday.
The Council also confirmed its intention to stage the men’s and women’s single scull and the men’s and women’s eights as the last four final races of each Rowing World Cup regatta whilst also ensuring that all 14 events are included on the international signal of the host broadcast.
It is believed that the new schedules will increase the media impact of rowing events by expanding the number of days that have final races and allow more focus on the athletes by reducing the volume of finals that take place on one day.
