Coastal Rowing Australia

Coastal Rowing is an extreme version of rowing and involves rowing along a sea coast and out into the sea.  It can also be done on large lakes and other bodies of water.

Coastal Rowing is one of the fastest growing communities of rowers as the type of boats used mean that flat water is not required, as such the global opportunities are much greater. Rowing on rough water means that Coastal Rowing is quite different from the flat-water disciplines. Coastal rowers often prefer rough water which adds a whole new dimension to the sport with many coastal rowers cherishing the exhilarating aspect of rowing in extreme conditions. Coastal Rowing can be easier to learn than flat-water rowing, due partly to the stability and robustness of the boats which differs from the flat-water boats, although another dynamic of needing to understand the sea requires a different skill set. The standard boats are singles (solo), doubles and coxed quadruple sculls. There are two event types that fall under coastal rowing, one is the endurance event which ranges between 4 – 6km around buoys in the sea / ocean, the other event which is known as “Beach Sprints”. As the name suggests the race begins on the beach with a rower running out to the boat to its’ waiting crew race around two buoys and back to the beach to the finish line.

With Coastal Rowing and Beach Sprints a confirmed event at the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar and being considered for the 2028 Olympic Games, we expect the interest in this form of sport to grow significantly. It opens new opportunities for athletes around the country to be involved in the sport.

The inaugural Rowing Australia Coastal Rowing and Beach Sprints Championships will be held later this year, please register your interest to keep up to date with all developments.