Welcome to the World Rowing Education Academy
The World Rowing Education Academy is a learning hub that aims to offer to all our National Member Federations a platform to develop and educate coaches, umpires, managers, classifiers and athletes.
It will contain modules across all rowing disciplines, classic rowing, coastal rowing, para rowing and indoor rowing.
It was founded in 2021 with the objective to create a learning space to sustain the continuous development of the sport of rowing and includes a variety of engaging learning opportunities. Such as online courses, live and replay webinars and a library with articles, publications, videos and websites of reference
About World Rowing
World Rowing, previously named FISA, is the oldest international sports federation in the Olympic movement, founded in 1892 and is the international governing body of the sport of rowing with 156 Member Federations
World Rowing sets the rules and regulations for the practice of the sport in all its forms (classic/elite, para rowing, coastal and indoor). It organises sanctioned World Rowing events including those for junior and under-23s. It provides advice and expertise for the organisation of rowing regattas, coaching education, rowing development and other matters relating to the sport and its development.
The origin of rowing
The boat was mankind’s most significant mode of transport for centuries and the oar is considered to be the most important invention before the wheel. The first representation of a rowing boat was discovered in Finland and dates back to 5,800 BC. The earliest regatta was held on 16 September 1274 in Venice, Italy, where regattas developed as challenges between gondoliers and boatmen in a variety of rowing boats. Rowing has evolved all over the world wherever people and water mix. The origin of the sport of rowing as we know it today comes from England, where the world-renowned Oxford versus Cambridge University Boat Race was first held in 1829 on the River Thames.
The boats
Boats, or shells, were traditionally made from wood. Top level boats are now fabricated from composite materials such as carbon fibre and kevlar. The width of boats varies from approximately 30cm for a single scull and up to 65cm for an eight. A small fin is fitted beneath the boat for directional stability. A rudder is attached to the fin or the stern for steering (except on most sculling boats). A white ball (bow ball) is attached to the bow for safety as well as for judging precision of the start and finish of races. A splashboard prevents waves from splashing water aboard. Seats are fitted with wheels which roll on runners or tracks.
The oars
Oars are hollow to reduce weight, attached to the boat by adjustable outriggers. The size and shape of oars is unrestricted, the average length of a sweep oar is 3.70m and of a scull 2.85m.
Boat classes
Rowing boat classes are either sculling or sweep events. In sculling (denoted by an ‘x’), each rower has two oars whereas in sweep rowing (denoted by a ‘-‘ for boats without coxswains and ‘+’ for coxed boats) each person in the boat has one oar
World Rowing is the governing body of the sport of rowing
World Rowing is a member of the following organisations
