Para rowing words · Beginner

Rowing for athletes with an eligible impairment, under the World Rowing Rules of Racing with the departures set out in Appendix R14. Para rowers race over the 2000 m course used in other rowing, in boats and with equipment that are regulated or standardised for the classes.

A rower may compete in a para event only with an eligible impairment and an allocated, eligible sport class and sport class status. A rower may race in a more functional sport class than the assigned one, but not a less functional one: a PR2 rower may race in PR3 events but not PR1 events.

PR1: a rowing-specific impairment affecting both trunk swing and leg drive, so the rower uses a fixed seat and has a significant impairment in generating force through trunk swing about the hips. PR2: an impairment mainly affecting the leg drive, so the rower also uses a fixed seat. PR3: functional use of the legs, trunk and arms, and the rower can use the sliding seat. The former names were AS (arms and shoulders), TA (trunk and arms) and LTA (legs, trunk and arms).

The World Rowing Standard Design boat that is mandatory for PR1 1x, PR2 1x and PR2 2x events. The Council decides the design, which can only change in the year after a Summer Paralympic Games. The seat and riggers are not part of the design but must be consistent with what was presented in classification. No adaptation may improve a rower's function beyond what was represented at classification.

The seat of the PR1 1x, PR2 1x and PR2 Mix2x standard boats must be fixed. The base and seat back must be static so they do not improve the rower's function. Cushioning is allowed if it does not improve function and matches what was presented in classification.

Any strap, mandatory or optional, must be at least 5 cm wide, non-elastic, without mechanical buckles, and releasable at once by one quick pull on the free end. Straps contrast in colour with the racing uniform and are all released the same way and direction. Hand strapping must release independently with a single hand movement. A rower may use extra straps if these requirements are met, and is solely responsible for compliance.

In mixed para events half of the rowers, not counting the coxswain, are male and half female. A PR3 Mix4+ may include up to two visually impaired rowers, only one of whom may be PR3 B3. A PR3 Mix2x may include one, either B1 or B2. A PR3 pair may include one. Coxswains have no age limit, may or may not have an impairment, and the minimum coxswain weights apply.