The Asian Qualification Regatta for the ANOC World Beach Games 2023, was hosted by the Rowing and Canoeing Association of Thailand (RCAT), and it was successfully concluded on 30th April 2023. The event was held in conjunction with the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships, with additional boat classes incorporated into the regatta at the request of the Asian Rowing Federation and Organizing Committee. In all a total of 10 events were offered: –
ANOC WBG Qualification Events: CM1x, CW1x, CMix2x
Asian Championship Events: CM2x, CW2x, CJM1x, CJW2x, CJM2x, CJW2x, CJMix2x
Racing was held over 3 days (April 28 – 30) with Time Trials and Heats on Day 1 and Finals on Days 2 and 3. A total of 12 Federations took part in the event (THA, KOR, SRI, UAE, PHI, JPN, INA, HKG, MAS, IRQ, KSA, and KUW) with 69 crews.
For the Qualification event, there were 11 entries in CM1x, 9 in CW1x and 10 in CMix2x.
Racing took place on Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, which provides an excellent venue for Beach Sprint competition with a soft, sandy, gently sloping beach and moderate waves.
With the full support of the Pattaya Tourism and Sport Bureau and the Sport Authority of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy were able to close off a section of the very busy beach and the water area for the competition zone. This was essential due to the large number of jet skis, banana boats, swimming, and other watersports activities nearby as Pattaya is a very popular beach resort city on the East coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
There was a mixed level of experience amongst the crews taking part in the competition. Some were joining a Beach Sprint event for the first time, whilst others had taken part in previous World or Asian events. However, the quality and diversity of the races was quite impressive.
World Rowing Beach Sprint Qualifier for World Beach Games 2023 results can be found here: Results Summary by Event total.xlsx (worldrowing.com)
Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships Results
Men Double Sculls | 1. PHI 2:30.14 2.KOR 2:38.83 3.UAE 2:43.45 |
Women Double Sculls | 1.INA 2:45.59 2.THA 2:48.77 3.PHI 2:51.23 |
Junior U19 Men Double Sculls | 1. SRI 02:57.35 2.THA 03:12.22 3.INA 02:49.37 |
Junior U19 Mixed Double Sculls | 1.THA 02:34.20 2. INA 02:34.23 3. SRI 02:53.95 |
Junior U19 Women Single Sculls | 1.INA 3:00.02 2. HKG 3:29.68 3.THA 3:10.66 |
Junior U19 Men Double Sculls | 1. THA 02:34.05 2. HKG 02:36.68 3. UAE 03:00.91 |
Junior U19 Women Double Sculls | 1. THA 02:57.44 2. HKG 02:59.35 3. MAS 04:48.72 |
Overall medal summary of 7 events Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships
THA 3 Gold 2 Silver 1 Bronze
INA 2 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze
PHI 1 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze
SRI 1 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze
HKG 0 Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze
KOR 0 Gold 1 Silver 0 Bronze
UAE 0 Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze
MAS 0 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze
The Championships were a good chance to set an example for clean water initiatives, whereby all participants were required to maintain the beach area where the racing took place clean by picking after themselves. Regular beach cleaning was also done daily by the OC, volunteers, and all participants.
Photos credit for this article: RCAT
Results credit for this article: ARF website