Back in 2019, the organizing committee of the inaugural beach sprint world championships in Shenzhen, China, offered to cover local travel and accommodation for up to 40 athletes. The investment was a way to kick-start beach sprint, and for many of the 50 that ultimately signed up, it was their first experience of the sport.
Now, World Rowing is looking to repeat the same bet with the launch of a fully funded, two-event, international beach sprint series in 2027 and 2028, and the dream of an expanded version from 2029 onwards. Each round of the series hopes to feature 16 national teams, comprising six athletes or support staff, and the sport’s global governing body plans to cover travel, accommodation, food and in-country logistics for each of those teams.
Since Shenzhen, beach sprint has grown substantially. It weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and the one-year delay in holding its second world championship, and when lightweight rowing was cut from the LA28 Olympic program, beach sprint subbed in. Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of high-level international regattas on offer—the LNC Competition in Cyprus, the Copa América in Peru, the Filippi Trophy in Italy, the 1924 Pharoes Trophy in Portugal, etc.—not to mention official continental championships, and in less than two months, beach sprint will make its debut at an Olympic-level event: the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
But the sport’s future still isn’t certain. In the same way as the International Olympic Committee can add new sports to the Olympic program, it can also take them away. Discounting beach sprint and the three other sports that will debut at LA28 (flag football, lacrosse sixes and squash), the list of one-hit wonders at the Olympic Games is relatively long. The most recent two examples of official sports that debuted and disappeared are karate (Tokyo 2020) and breaking (Paris 2024). And there are more than 40 demonstration sports, unofficial sports and other events that failed to hold onto their place in the Games for very long.
For a startup sport like beach sprint, that danger is perhaps even more existential. Countries have invested time and resources in it because of the Olympic dream, and the opportunity to secure Olympic diplomas and medals, but nowhere is there a long cultural history of beach sprint, because the sport is just 11 years old. Should it be axed from Brisbane 2032—we’ll find out next year—that decision could undo everything.
World Rowing’s executive director Vicent Gaillard admitted to Row 360 last week that there is a real risk of beach sprint getting cut. And in that light, the launch of this limited, global series is in part a political play to help ensure the sport stays on the program at Brisbane and beyond. World Rowing had been hoping for private backing for its vision of a beach sprint league, but has not yet been able to secure the necessary investment. So it decided to launch the series regardless, but scaled back to just two dates and funded internally.
Beach sprint needs more momentum to guarantee its survival, and perhaps the series could even provide insurance if the sport loses its Olympic status. Multiple high-level regattas each year may bring more attention to beach sprint than a single competition every four years. This is even more true given the fact that Olympic quotas limit teams to a maximum of one man and one woman. The World Rowing series expands that to up to six athletes and adds a mixed relay competition, as well as cutting costs from national teams and providing prizes. (Reportedly the total prize fund will be as much as 100,000€.) By tying series qualification to results in the previous year’s World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals (seven teams) plus continental regattas (one team per continent), further weight is also put behind those events. (Exact details on how qualification will work have not yet been released.)
The launch of this series, however, is likely to disrupt the existing ecosystem of beach sprint regattas. The two stages for 2027 and 2028 will take place in Antalya, Turkey, and Yangjiang, China. The inaugural regatta in Antalya is scheduled for 26-28 March next year, and while dates haven’t yet been set for Yangjiang, the plan is for that race to take place in April or May. The four stages of the Filippi Trophy, meanwhile, are planned for 12-14 March, 9-11 April, 14-16 May and 4-6 June. And this year’s Copa America Coastal in Peru race took place 21-26 April and the LNC Competition in Cyprus ran 1-3 May. There is a strong possibility of schedule conflict.
Qualified teams will almost certainly prioritize World Rowing’s series over these more established regattas, even if simply because of the fact that their travel costs will be covered. If the dates clash, that could result in a significant hit to participation in Italy, Peru, Cyprus and other places. And even if they don’t, national teams may still opt to forgo these smaller events as they seek to prioritize the new series.