Highlighting women on women’s day

Today is International Women’s Day. This celebrates the achievements of women past, present and future. It has been celebrated since the early 1900s and some countries mark it with a national holiday.

Every year, funds permitting, a women’s rowing development camp is held in Seville, Spain. This year’s camp has just finished with 24 athletes from nine nations taking part.

Coaches and specialists gave their time voluntarily and included former FISA commission member Penny Chuter, Swedish rowing medallist Frida Svensson, Irish lightweight champion and now medical doctor Sam Lynch, Swedish coach Joern Ehmke, biomechanics specialist Valery Kleshnev and FISA’s development director Thor Nilsen.

Aimed mainly at women in rowing development nations, Nilsen said it was a chance for the athletes to ask questions about training, learn about the philosophies of training and get technical analysis on the water.
All of the rowers participated in the FISA Team Cup and for some it was their first time racing at the international level. Nilsen was especially proud of the composite crew of Katalin Szabo of Hungary and Estonia’s Kaisa Pajusalu who won the women’s double.

In light of International Women’s Day Nilsen was reflective on the progress of women’s rowing around the world. “It’s improved in some countries, but not others,” says Nilsen. “Some countries still focus on their men’s crews and in an economic crisis the first thing to get cut is unfortunately women’s sport.”

On the other hand Nilsen notes great progress in Egypt. “The Egyptians are giving women rowers their support. Also Pakistan has a good number of girls participating,” says Nilsen. “But we have to face facts, most rowing federations are facing financial problems so then finances go where they have a better chance for results, so often men get the support over women. This still happens in many countries.”

The first European Championships open to women (worldwide) was in 1955. In 1969, FISA acknowledged the growth of women’s rowing around the world by starting a women’s sub-commission. The first major task of this commission was to get women’s rowing into the Olympic Games. In 1974, the first World Rowing Championships including women’s events were organised and two years later, in 1976, the first women rowers competed at the Olympic Games. At this time women competed over a distance of 1000m. In 1985 the distance was standardised to 2000m.

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