2014 World Champsionship Amsterdam

The 2014 Championships will take place on the Bosbaan international regatta course from Sunday 24 to Sunday 31 August 2014. The A-finals will take place over four days from Thursday 28 to Sunday 31 August. On the Thursday and Friday, the finals will be held in the late afternoon in order to maximise the number of spectators and create the best atmosphere for the rowers.  

"The timing of racing at the World Rowing Championships this year has been settled after considering all elements such as the weather conditions, the possible windows for broadcast by television rights holders around the world and the desire for the maximum number of spectators. After carefully balancing all interests, we have elected to have afternoon racing leading up to the final weekend," said FISA's executive director, Matt Smith.

Significant research in cooperation with the University of Amsterdam has taken place in order to analyse the weather data and more accurately predict the incoming weather. The research has shown that weather predictions can be accurately forecasted more than 24 hours ahead of time. This will allow for adjustments to the race schedule, if necessary, by noon on the previous day. As the hotels are close to the course in Amsterdam, teams will have only minor adjustments to make if the schedule should change due to weather. Alternative racing schedules have been prepared to attempt to anticipate changes in the weather.

The four days of finals will begin with the five Para-rowing finals on Thursday, 28 August starting at 17:15 hrs (CET). Finals on Friday, 29 August begin at 16:00 hrs. On Saturday, 30 August the finals will start at 13:33 hrs and on Sunday, 31 August finals begin at 13:03 hrs. The finals on each of those four days will last about one and a half hours.

The World Rowing Championships take place annually at the end each rowing season. Last year's World Rowing Championships were in Chungju (KOR) and over 70 nations attended with just under 1,000 athletes competing. Amsterdam last hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1977 and since then the course has been widened and the infrastructure refurbished. It hosted the 2005 and 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and the 2006 World Rowing Junior Championships.

Find more information on the World Rowing Championships and the timetable here.