Hundreds of rowers from more than 30 nations will assemble in the blossoming beauty of Lucerne later this year. Why? To write another thrilling chapter in the story of one of the world’s oldest sporting events. As late spring meets early summer between the 31st of May and 2nd June, the European Rowing Championships will take to the water once more.
New friendships will be made, standards of sporting excellence will be raised and, of course, vibrant rivalries will be renewed in a magical spirit of participation.
The History
The first regatta held as a European Rowing Championships was launched in 1893, heralding 20 years of successful competition before the outbreak of war brought a halt to proceedings until 1920. Both the Olympics and World War II have played a part in the cancellation of the event, but the championships have taken place albeit in differing forms ever since. On 27 May 2006, the FISA members voted to bring back a separate European Rowing Championships in its own right.
Last year European Rowing announced the 2018 edition of the championships would form part of the first European Championships. This was to be a multi-sport event organised by, and consisting of the European championships involving individual European sports federations.
Scotland played hosts last year as part of the new multi-sport format. Not least, the overall triumph of Madalina Beres and Denisa Tilvescu from medal table toppers Romania. They secured two gold medals in the women’s pair and women’s eight. The men’s four team also triumphed along with their double sculls crew and women’s four. The men’s eight and men’s pair each landed bronze
The German men’s eight thundered to victory at the end of the regatta as many had expected. In fact, it marked a sixth successive European title for the team’s flagship boat.
The Teams
The 2019 European Rowing Championships will feature exciting teams from Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, Russia and many more. A full list will be announced nearer to the competition.
The Events
Men and women’s events include the lightweight category from fours to eights, sculls and double sculls. Many of the top online bookmakers take bets on request even if the event isn’t advertised in their sports on the site.
European Rowing Championships 2019 Schedule
May 31st will see the heats begin early in the morning, with the repechages taking place in the afternoon. Saturday is the day for a host of semi-finals and finals, before Sunday sees more intriguing finals and an end to the regatta.
The Tickets
Rowing clubs can get their tickets directly through the SRV on a first come – first served basis. For others, there’s more information on the European Rowing Championships 2019 event website. Prices range from CHF 30 for a single day to CHF 140 for a three-day pass.
This is now one of the key events in world rowing, and as those magnificent Swiss mountains get ready to welcome some of the world’s best exponents of the art, everything is set for another great sporting occasion.
Photo by Josh Calabrese
