History

In 1975, Adaptive Rowing programmes were initiated in a number of countries, including Australia, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and USA. An exhibition event in Adaptive Rowing was included in the FISA World Rowing Championships in the Netherlands in 1993. After further exhibition events and four FISA Adaptive Rowing Seminars, FISA finally introduced Adaptive Rowing at the “World Championships” level at its 2002 World Rowing Championships in Seville, Spain, where 38 athletes competed in the single sculls and the coxed four. The sport has continued to develop with four boat classes at the 2003 World Rowing Championships in Milan, Italy. At the 2004 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in Banyoles, Spain, 66 Adaptive Rowing athletes took part. In 2005, ten countries entered a total number of 42 adaptive rowers for the World Rowing Championships.