FISA launches future World Rowing event bidding process

For immediate release
Lausanne, 22 July 2014

The World Rowing Federation, FISA, has launched the bid process for future World Rowing events. These events include:

2017
– World Rowing Junior Championships
– World Rowing Cup II and III
– World Rowing Coastal Championships
– FISA Extraordinary Congress

2018
–  World Rowing Junior Championships
– World Rowing Under 23 Championships
– World Rowing Cup II & III
– World Rowing Masters Regatta

2019
– World Rowing Championships
– World Rowing Under 23 Championships
– World Rowing Masters Regatta

The selection includes World Rowing’s most prestigious event, the 2019 World Rowing Championships. In addition to the more than 1.200 athletes from over 70 countries, this event attracts a significant number of international spectators and reaches a global television audience. In addition, the 2019 Championships will double as the main Olympic Qualification Regatta for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, thus considerably enhancing the brand of the host city.

World Rowing’s junior championship regatta is the top event for athletes under the age of 19 and bids are open for 2017 and 2018. The 2017 World Rowing Junior Championships also acts as a qualification regatta for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. The junior championship regatta regularly attracts around 800 athletes from nearly 60 countries.

One of FISA’s fastest-growing events is the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. This event acts as a stepping stone for athletes under 23 years of age to move to the elite ranks of rowing. The under-23 championship regatta draws over 800 athletes from more than 50 nations.

The World Rowing Coastal Championships is another fast-growing event that takes place in coastal towns with the regatta course often starting and ending on the beach. This allows for maximum spectator interaction with the coastal rowers while they tackle the surf and waves. This year’s coastal championships are being held in Thessaloniki, Greece while next year they will take place in Lima, Peru. Bids are open for the 2017 World Rowing Coastal Championships.

The World Rowing Cup series includes three events per season and bids are open for the second and third stages of the 2017 and 2018 World Rowing Cup series. The World Rowing Cup series is designed to act as a lead-up to the World Rowing Championships and regularly attracts between 40 and 50 nations. Shorter than a championship event, the World Rowing Cup is held over three intensive days of racing, of which the Sunday finals are televised to a worldwide audience.

The 2018 and 2019 World Rowing Masters Regattas are open for bids. This is the largest World Rowing event with a four-day concentrated programme and over 400 individual races that typically attracts over 3,000 masters competitors (age 27+) from over 40 countries, in addition to their families. It is often treated by competitors as a family holiday with local tourist attractions an important feature. Customarily, in the even years between the summer Olympics (eg. 2018), the event is staged outside of Europe.

The final event open for bids is the 2017 FISA Extraordinary Congress. The Extraordinary Congress happens every four years with decisions about the statutes, rules and regulations of rowing being made. The Extraordinary Congress is held in February in this post-Olympic year.

National Rowing Federations are invited to request the Bidding Information Sheet related to the event(s) for which they might be interested in hosting. These sheets may be requested from Nathalie Phillips on email: nathalie.phillips@fisa.org They detail the timelines associated with each specific bid and list the financial commitments that are required by FISA in respect of the bidding, appointment and staging processes.

The next step is for any National Federation that intends to bid for any of the above events, it must indicate its intention to bid in writing to FISA. ‘Intention to Bid’ letters should be sent on the National Federation’s letterhead to FISA Executive Director, Matt Smith at matt.smith@fisa.org by 31 August 2014.

Upon FISA’s acceptance of a National Federation’s Intention to Bid, it will make available the appropriate Bid Documentation (on 15 September 2014) so that each candidate may understand the process and associated requirements as well as any applicable costs. FISA will then follow up by arranging individual meetings with each candidate – aimed at assisting understanding and answering any related questions. A detailed site/inspection visit will take place after the submission of the preliminary bid questionnaire.

The next steps are the submission of the final bids for evaluation by FISA. At the 2015 World Rowing Cup regatta in Lucerne, a presentation of the bid to the FISA Council will need to be made by each candidate. This will be followed by an opportunity for each candidate to clarify any requested matters.

The final attribution of the World Championships and the Extraordinary Congress will be decided by the delegates at the 2015 FISA Congress following the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. The attribution of the other events is made by the FISA Council and this will be announced at the same Congress.

FISA, has also launched the bid process for future European Rowing events. These events include:

2017
– European Rowing Championships
– European Rowing Junior Championships

The European Rowing Championship regatta is the oldest FISA event dating back to 1893. It ended in 1973 but was re-started in 2007. Since the placement at the front of the season in 2013, it has become very competitive with 36 countries and nearly 700 competitors. It attracts significant television interest (60 TV channels in nearly 30 countries). The European Junior Championships are now in their fourth year and attracts more than 25 countries and over 450 participants. They will be attributed at the 2015 European General Assembly in May 2015.

For any questions regarding bidding, please contact Nathalie Phillips at nathalie.phillips@fisa.org or telephone +41 21 612 8373.