What is Coastal Rowing?
Coastal rowing is a competitive sport where crews race along a coastline. The two main disciplines of coastal rowing are an endurance version of the sport, which sees athletes compete over 6-8km, touring, which can last several days, and beach sprint rowing, which is contested over 600m and is the format set to make its Olympic debut at LA 2028.
Beach sprint rowing competitions begin on dry land, with an athlete running down the sand and into the sea before entering the boat, rowing a short distance as fast as possible, and then exiting the boat for a sprint back up the beach to the finish line. Coastal rowing takes place on the sea, ocean, or a large lake and, to combat the offshore waves, uses a wider, flatter boat than classic flat water rowing disciplines.
Where, when, and by whom was Coastal Rowing invented?
Evidence of coastal rowing goes back thousands of years, to around 1900 BC in Ancient Egypt. Competitive coastal rowing began in France in the 1980s. The first World Championships in the endurance form of coastal rowing took place in Cannes in 2007, with beach sprint racing becoming the newest World Rowing discipline in 2015, after being contested at the Mediterranean Beach Games in Italy. The first World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals took place in 2019.
What are the rules of Coastal Rowing?
Beach sprint rowing races are usually 600m in total length. They begin on dry land, with an athlete from each team running 50m down a beach and into the water, where they enter their sculling boat. Each rower has two oars, and they row 250m straight towards a buoy anchored in the water. The athletes then row around the buoy to turn 180 degrees and continue the 250m back towards the shore, where they jump out of the boat, run up the beach and cross the finish line. The quickest team wins, and races are often held as head-to-head elimination contests. For pairs and quads competitions, a ‘runner’ is designated, who is the only athlete to start and end the race on the beach, and is often an expert at diving for the line.
Coastal Rowing and the Olympics
Coastal rowing will make an Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, with medals being awarded in the beach sprint discipline.
Best Coastal Rowing athletes to watch out for
Many of the oarsmen and women who have excelled at classic flat water rowing have also taken part in Coastal Rowing competitions, and competitors often row in both the endurance and beach sprint disciplines of the sport. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain have excelled in recent years, and Olympic champion Helen Glover from Great Britain has a silver medal from the World Rowing Beach Sprint championships. Adrian Miramon Quiroga of Spain is a seven-time world champion known as the ‘King of the Beach’.
