Manavgat, Türkiye – October 2025
As waves lapped against the shores of Manavgat during the 2025 European Rowing Coastal and Beach Sprint Championships, athletes and volunteers came together not only to compete but to protect the very waters that sustain their sport.
In a joint effort under the World Rowing – WWF Healthy Waters Alliance, and supported by the EU BlueMissionMed Project, WWF Türkiye and DEKAFOK, rowing clubs across Türkiye took part in a series of citizen-science activities aimed at fighting plastic pollution and safeguarding marine biodiversity.
The initiative, which blended sport, science, and community engagement, included two key activities: WWF Türkiye’s “Adopt a Beach” programme, focusing on cleaning and monitoring coastal plastic pollution, and a microplastic analysis project led in collaboration with Akdeniz (Mediterranean) University.
Cleaning Up Kleopatra Beach
On 10 October, 26 volunteers gathered at Kleopatra Beach, a scenic coastal spit near the mouth of the Manavgat River, for a beach cleanup and waste-monitoring event. Over the course of the day, participants collected 60 kilograms of waste from a 100 m x 50 m stretch of coastline. Among the debris were approximately 150 single-use PET bottles and 10 kilograms of hard plastics.
The data collected was integrated into WWF Türkiye’s national database on coastal pollution, adding to an expanding body of evidence underscoring the severity of marine plastic waste in the Mediterranean. These findings reinforce the urgent need for stronger waste management systems and a reduction in single-use plastics to preserve fragile coastal ecosystems.
The Healthy Waters: Rowing For the Ocean initiative showcased how sporting communities can become powerful advocates for environmental protection. By linking competitive rowing with hands-on conservation, the project exemplified the potential of sport to inspire action and awareness for healthier oceans and waterways.
As preparations begin for future editions of the Championships, event organisers aim to build on this momentum, ensuring that environmental action becomes a lasting legacy of international rowing events — in the Mediterranean and beyond.
Representing Cyprus, Evgenia Maria Polycarpou and Georgios Antoniou competed in the Coastal Under 19 Mixed Double (CJMix2x), placing 12th in the time trial and therefore not advancing to the next round of racing.
For Greece, Iasonas Mouselimis raced in the Coastal Under 19 Men’s Solo (CJMS1x), finishing 15th in the time trial and advancing to face the Italian rower in the knockout round, where he was eliminated.Eva Boga also represented Greece in the Coastal Under 19 Women’s Solo (CJWS1x), placing 19th in the time trial and moving on to face an Individual Neutral Athlete, where she too was eliminated.
From Finland, Ilona Mäkelä competed in the same women’s solo category, placing 22nd in the time trial, just behind Eva Boga. Mäkelä was eliminated in the knockout round by an Italian rower.
Malta was represented by Mark Schembri in the Coastal Men’s Solo (CMS1x), who placed last in the time trial, and Leanne Xuereb Ungaro, who raced in the Coastal Women’s Solo (CWS1x) but did not finish her race.