What happens to rowing races in wind and rough water?
A · Advanced · Penalties, protests and weather · 9 of 12When conditions are unfair or unrowable, officials work down a list. First they try the lanes with the most equal water, a changed timetable or a suspension. Reallocating lanes by ranking comes next. If none of that works, rounds can be dropped, time trials used or the distance cut to no less than 1,000 metres.
How it works
Two words carry the rule. Unrowable means crews cannot warm up and race without a risk of their boats swamping or overturning. Unequal means the conditions are not the same for all crews over the full length of the course.
The options, tried first:
- Use the lanes offering the most equal conditions.
- Change the timetable to avoid the bad weather.
- Suspend racing and name other times.
- Give out lanes by rankings from the previous round, better-ranked crews getting better lanes. This is considered only after the first three, and never for heats.
The solutions, if no option works:
- Start racing earlier than scheduled.
- Resume later when conditions improve.
- Leave out one or more rounds, such as the semifinals.
- Run each race as a time trial.
- Run one time trial for all remaining crews at each level of a round.
- Cut the race to no less than 1,000 metres, "where conditions are so adverse that no other alternative is possible".
Crews and team managers must be told at the earliest opportunity, with adequate time to prepare for the changed procedure.
Tricky cases
Who decides that conditions are unfair?
It depends on the regatta. At an international regatta it is the president of the jury. At World Championships, the Games and World Cups a Fairness Committee decides on the options and the Executive Committee on the solutions.
Can a final have more than six boats?
Yes. When a round is left out, the next round is made up from the rounds already completed, and the rule says that "may necessitate more than six crews in each race".
A squall hits while a race is under way. Who stops it?
The umpire. Whether the race continues or stops is the umpire's responsibility, and safety comes before any other rule.
Why the rule exists
Rowing is raced on open water, and a crosswind can make one lane lengths faster than another. The list is ordered so that the format of the regatta is disturbed as little as possible, and it puts the same question first each time: are the crews getting an equal race?
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| World Rowing rules | As above | RR 64 and bye-law |
| International regattas | The president of the jury decides alone, after consultation | RR 64 (1); RR 64 bye-law (2) |
| Top regattas | Fairness Committee and Executive Committee | RR 64 (2); RR 64 bye-law (3) |
From the rule book
World Rowing Rules of Racing and Related Bye-Laws (Overall and Classic Rowing), Rule 64 and its bye-laws, Appendix R8 and the bye-laws to Rule 84. Last updated 1 July 2025. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Rowing Rules of Racing (PDF).