Rowsellas fly out for 2026 World Cup Campaign

The Australian Rowing Team [ART] started its 2026 campaign on Thursday when the Women’s squad flew to Europe for World Cup I in Seville, Spain on May 29-31.

The season represents the next major phase of Rowing Australia’s high-performance program that is underpinned by more than a decade of support from Hancock Prospecting and by the enduring commitment of Rowing Australia Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO. From trials to crew selection, and now to the big stage of international competition, Hancock Prospecting’s investment continues to play a pivotal role in enabling Australian crews to prepare, perform and succeed against the world’s best.

RA also acknowledges the support of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Australian Sports Commission (ASC), and Australian Government, whose investment helps athletes, coaches and programs to perform on the world stage.

The Women's squad is the first of the ART – the ‘Rowsellas’ - to tour, with the Men’s, Para, ‘Australia A’ and Coastal Rowing Beach Sprint teams all to follow in coming weeks.

First to follow will be Australia’s Beach Sprint team that leaves on Sunday for Italy to prepare for the Filippi Lido Beach Sprint regatta in Tuscany on June 5-7 in a campaign that will culminate with the World Championships in Qingdao, China in October, and ultimately the sport’s Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028.

For the rest of the ART, this year’s international calendar includes the Holland Beker Regatta in Netherlands and World Cup III in Switzerland in June, and the end-of-season World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in August.

RA Performance Director Paul Thompson MBE says a critical aim for the team in 2026 is that it shows progress in the Olympic and Paralympic class boats, with 2027 being a qualification year for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We need to show progress in the Olympic and Paralympic boats,” Thompson said.

“We’ve been improving and the goal is always to get the speed out of the boats that is there and see the crews race to their potential.”

At World Cup I in Seville, the Rowsellas will only be represented by the women’s squad. The Holland Beker Regatta in the Netherlands on June 20-21 will see the international debut of the new-look Men’s Pair of Alex Hill OAM OLY and Angus Dawson OLY, who will be joined by the ‘Australia A’ team, which flies to Europe on June 17.

The Australia A initiative – made possible through the generous support of Hancock Prospecting – is aimed at giving emerging athletes, primarily Australians studying abroad, international racing experience and a chance to still push for 2026 World Championships selection.

The World Championships team will be finalised after World Cup III at Lucerne from June 26-28 where the Women’s, Men’s, Para and ‘Australia A’ squads will all race.

Off the back of its preparation at the Hancock Prospecting National Training Centre in Penrith (women), the Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre in Canberra (men + PR3 Para Rowing), and with Erik Horrie OAM at QAS in Queensland, the ART is optimistic about its selections this year.

With 2025 having seen a large intake of new athletes into the national system, and an extraordinary 25 debutants on the senior team, the focus now is on refining combinations and determining which crews can become medal contenders at the world titles and ultimately, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics.

“We’ve got a good plan in place for 2026,” Thompson said. “In 2025, we started with a lot of new rowers. This year we’ve been consolidating the rowers and the boats.”

Thompson said the women’s, men’s and Para squads would follow different international strategies this year based partly on lessons learned during the 2025 campaign.

“The women are doing the two World Cups and they’re coming back and training at the Hancock Prospecting NTC in Penrith,” Thompson said.

In contrast, the Men’s and Para squads will return to the AIS European Training Centre [ETC] in Gavirate, Italy after bypassing Seville and racing in Lucerne.

“The men are doing one tour,” Thompson said. “That’s not without its risks, but the squads are working to optimise their performance environment.”

World Cup III in Lucerne looms as the major mid-season examination before Amsterdam.

“That’s our primary World Cup,” Thompson said. “We want to maximise the speed in all the boats and assess where the crews are up to.”

Crews likely to attract attention include the Men’s and Women’s Eights, the Men’s Pair of Alex Hill OAM OLY and Angus Dawson OLY, the new-look Men’s Four and Quadruple Scull and Women’s Four and Pair, former Gina Rinehart AO Leadership Award recipient Tara Rigney OLY in her post-Paris Olympics return in the Women’s Single Scull, Erik Horrie OAM in the PR1 Single Scull and the new PR3 Mixed Double Scull crew of 2025 World Championship medallist Sam Stunnell and Ella Marshall.

Another athlete likely to attract interest is Tokyo Olympic champion and Paris Olympic bronze medallist Annabelle McIntyre OAM OLY. She is continuing her return after an interrupted post Paris Olympics spell that included back surgery.

Thompson said there is no pressure on McIntyre to rush her return and that her focus is on making sure progress is steady and made with the long-term in mind.

“She’s on track to race in Lucerne, not Seville,” Thompson said. “There’s absolutely no KPIs for her other than getting to the start line and going from start to finish.”

“What we do know is that she’s been doing a lot of training,” he added. “But it’s not necessarily rowing-specific training.”

Thompson said the time spent together by the current coaching group assembled after the Paris Olympics was paying dividends.

“It’s working smoothly,” he said. “They’ve had a good 18 months together and we’ve been working on what are the important things to get right.”

The return has shown in training performance, with rowers recording a “raft of personal bests” in testing and benchmark sessions across the season build-up.

“We’ve had a raft of personal bests hitting our benchmarks,” Thompson said. “Now we need to make sure we capitalise and see what happens on the water.”

Australian Rowing Team departures to Europe

• May 21 – Women’s Team to Seville, Spain
• May 24 – Coastal Rowing Beach Sprint Team to Milan, Italy
• May 28 – Para Team to Milan, Italy
• June 6 – Men’s Team to Milan, Italy
• June 17 – Australia A Team to Amsterdam, Netherlands

Australian Rowing Team 2026 international calendar

• May 29-31 – World Cup I: Seville, Spain (Women)
• June 5-7 – Filippi Lido Beach Sprint Regatta: Tuscany (Beach Sprint)
•June 20-21 – Holland Beker Regatta: Netherlands (Men's Pair + Australia A)
• June 27-28 – World Cup III: Lucerne, Switzerland (Women, Men, Australia A, Para)
• August 24-30 – World Championships: Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Australian Senior and Para World Cup team is:

AVAILABLE HERE

The Australia A Team for the Holland Beker Regatta and World Cup III is:

AVAILABLE HERE

The Australian Beach Sprint Team for Filippi Lido Beach Sprint Regatta is:

AVAILABLE HERE

By Rupert Guinness, Australian Rowing Team Media Manager

Photo: Patrick Boere - In the zone: Jacquie Swick, at last year's world titles, will again race in Australia's Women's Four, as will Georgie Rowe.