World Rowing Unveils New Global Beach Sprint Series

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World Rowing has launched a new beach sprint rowing series (Credit: World Rowing)

Following the conclusion of the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, World Rowing has announced the launch of a new Beach Sprint Series, creating a new international competition platform for one of rowing’s fastest-growing disciplines.

The international governing body anticipates that the inaugural two-event series will lead to the formation of a global series with multiple stages starting in 2029.

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Each event will feature 16 national teams, with travel, accommodation, food, and local logistics covered for participating teams, while the top eight athletes in an event will receive direct prize money. The competition format will also include the mixed team relay as World Rowing continues to develop the discipline’s international racing program.

Having seen rapid growth in recent years, beach sprint rowing is set to be featured at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, from October 31 through November 13, and it will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.

“This is the beginning of something we believe can become a major international series for beach sprint,” said World Rowing Executive Director Vincent Gaillard. “We are starting with a focused foundation phase in Türkiye and China, learning from these events and building towards a larger global series from 2029.

“Our ambition is to create more races for athletes, more opportunities for countries to participate, and more opportunities for audiences to discover rowing.”

The inaugural event in the World Rowing Beach Sprint Series will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from March 26—28, 2027, at Sorgun Çamiçi Beach on the Mediterranean coast. It comes after Türkiye previously delivered the 2025 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, while Istanbul has been awarded the 2027 European Games, and Antalya will also host the 2028 edition of the Beach Sprint Finals.

Next year, after Antalya, the Series will head to Yangjiang, China, in either April or May, with the exact dates still to be finalized. It will take place at Luozhou Seaside Park in Daijao Bay, which previously welcomed the 2025 National Games of China.

Competition Format

The Series will use the three beach sprint events that will be contested at the LA28 Olympic Summer Games: Men’s Solo, Women’s Solo, and Mixed Double, as well as the Mixed Relay. The Beach Sprint Series will be the international debut of the Mixed Relay event.

Each Beach Sprints series event will feature 16 national teams, qualifying via the following routes:

Seven teams qualified from the previous World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals
Five teams qualified through the continents — one from each continent, where possible
One guaranteed host-nation team
Three wild cards

Each national team will have six rowers, including four athletes and two support/spare rowers.

Building a Larger International Calendar

The World Rowing Beach Sprint Series is designed to complement, rather than compete with, the growing number of beach sprint competitions around the world.

World Rowing says that it will continue to work with third-party regattas, national and continental events, and multi-sport competitions, including the Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Mediterranean Games, while maintaining the annual World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals as a key event in the international calendar.

Furthermore, the governing body wants the new series to develop into a multi-stage global competition from 2029, potentially bringing high-level beach sprint racing to more locations around the world.

“Beach sprints are helping us imagine rowing in new ways,” said World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland. “They bring the sport closer to spectators, open opportunities in places without traditional rowing courses, and have the potential to attract new athletes and new audiences. The launch of this series is an important step as we build the future of beach sprints and continue to grow rowing around the world and at the Olympic Games.”

In a bid to further grow its events and offerings, World Rowing last year partnered with Ergatta, a producer of game-based fitness options for cardio equipment, to develop new gaming and esports initiatives. The international federation intends to launch esports competitions using Ergatta’s software to promote the benefits of rowing events and healthy habits more generally.