The 2026 Paris Para Rowing Regatta, held at the Île‑de‑France Nautical Stadium, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic venue, was more than a competition. It served as a major development milestone for Para Rowing, bringing together athletes, coaches, classifiers, researchers, federations and clubs from across the world in a unique, integrated programme of sport, education, and science.
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Now in its fourth edition, the Paris Para Rowing Regatta continues to strengthen its position as a key international development event, offering both Paralympic and non‑Paralympic boat classes and enabling countries at different stages of Para Rowing development to participate and progress together.
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Ahead of the regatta, and with the financial support of the IPC Sport for Mobility Programme, World Rowing delivered a Para Rowing Development Training Camp as part of its global development programme. The camp was led by World Rowing Development Coach Ella Elsender, with support from French local coaches Marine Mahieu and Pedro Sanz. It also welcomed Lithuanian emerging Para coach Eglė Bezzubovaitė, who joined the programme to gain practical experience and further develop her capacity to support the establishment of a Para Rowing programme in Lithuania.
Open to all Member Federations, the training camp aimed to support both emerging and developing Para Rowing programmes, recognising that even in more established rowing nations, Para Rowing often remains at an early stage of development.
The camp brought together athletes and coaches from Czechia, Egypt, India, and Romania, providing structured on‑water training, targeted technical support, and valuable opportunities to train and exchange knowledge with peers from different regions. Importantly, equipment support and logistical assistance were integrated into the programme to reduce barriers to participation, particularly for federations with limited resources or those still developing their Para Rowing pathways.
In parallel with the training camp, World Rowing with IPC support organised an Advanced Classification Workshop for classifier trainees working towards international status. This workshop addressed one of the most critical challenges in Para Rowing worldwide: the limited availability of trained and experienced international classifiers across continents.
The workshop delivered by World Rowing Educators and Classification Advisory Panel (CAP) Members Simon Goodey and Roberto Nahon, and with 10 participants representing four continents combined theoretical learning with practical exposure at an international event, enabling participants to deepen their understanding of the classification process and contribute to expanding global classification capacity in a sustainable way.
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The Paris Para Rowing Regatta also offered international physical and visual classification opportunities, allowing athletes and Member Federations to access classification earlier in the season and in a competitive environment, in line with World Rowing Para Rowing Regulations.
By integrating classification directly into the event, athletes could be observed racing under competition conditions, supporting accurate and robust sport class allocation while reducing the logistical burden for federations that may otherwise struggle to access classification opportunities.
A further key component of the Paris Para Rowing Regatta was its contribution to classification research. The research examines the relationship between impairment characteristics and performance across the PR1, PR2, and PR3 sport classes, supporting the ongoing development of evidence‑based Para Rowing classification. Conducting research within a competition and development environment such as Paris ensures that research outcomes are directly informed by real‑world Para Rowing practice.
By combining competition, development training, classifier education, classification opportunities, and applied research within a single event, the 2026 Paris Para Rowing Regatta demonstrated a truly holistic approach to Para Rowing development. It reinforced the regatta’s role as a direct legacy of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and highlighted how major international events can actively support long‑term participation, fairness, and inclusion within Para sport.
Through these integrated activities, World Rowing continues to strengthen development pathways for athletes, coaches, and classifiers, while ensuring that Para Rowing remains firmly embedded within the international Rowing ecosystem and aligned with the evolving needs of current and future Paralympic competition.
Special thanks go to the Organising Committee, the Ligue d’Île‑de‑France d’Aviron (LIFA) and the Comité d’Organisation et de Support des Manifestations d’Aviron de Vaires‑sur‑Marne (COSMA), the French Rowing Federation, and all dedicated staff and volunteers whose commitment made this programme possible. Warm thanks are also extended to all participating teams and Member Federations for prioritising this important regatta within their season planning and budgets, and for their continued contribution to the growth and sustainability of Para Rowing worldwide.