Rowing has been part of the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1900 Games. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. Lightweight rowing events were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.
Rowing at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul featured 14 events in total, for men and women, held on the Han River Regatta Course.
The 2011 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 August to 4 September 2011 at Lake Bled, adjoining the Slovenian city of Bled. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by World Rowing Federation (FISA), and held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer. In non-Olympic Games years the regatta is the highlight of the international rowing calendar, and in the year prior to the Olympics it is the main qualification event for the following year's Olympics.
The 1978 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 October to 5 November at Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand. Twenty-eight countries were represented at the regatta. In the history of the World Rowing Championships, 1978 was the only year when the lightweight rowing championships were not held in conjunction with the open men and women event; the lightweight events had already been held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August.
The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette-le-Lac in France.
The 2016 World Rowing Championships was the 46th edition and held from 21 to 28 August 2016 at the Willem-Alexander Baan in Rotterdam, Netherlands in conjunction with the World Junior Rowing Championships and the World Rowing U23 Championships. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by FISA, and held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer. Because the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics were the major rowing events in 2016, the World Championships programme was limited to non-Olympic events, non-Paralympic events, and the World Rowing Junior Championships were held at the same time, and also the World Rowing U23 Championships.
The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly extended from the 1970 edition, with the addition of both women's and lightweight men's events. Six women boat classes were added, three lightweight men classes, plus quad scull for men, increasing the number of boat classes from seven in 1970 to seventeen in 1974. This was also the last World Championships held on a quadrennial cycle – from this point, World Championships were held annually.
The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England.
The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy".
The 1992 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 13 to 16 August 1992 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since 1992 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include Olympic events scheduled for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The 2017 World Rowing Championships were the 47th edition of the World Rowing Championships that were held from 24 September to 1 October 2017 in Sarasota, Florida.
The 2017 European Rowing Championships were held in Račice, Czech Republic, between 24 and 28 May 2017.
The 1971 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Bagsværd in the Danish capital Copenhagen. There were seven competitions for men and five for women, and the most successful nation was East Germany with five gold medals across the twelve boat classes. As World Rowing Championships were still held at four-year intervals at the time, the European Rowing Championships were open to nations outside of Europe and had become to be regarded as quasi-world championships. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and 120 boats were entered in total.
The 1973 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held at the regatta course on the Krylatskoye Rowing Canal in Moscow, Soviet Union. The competition was the first use of the venue. There were seven competitions for men and five for women. World Rowing Championships were held, up until 1974, at four-year intervals, and the European Rowing Championships were open to nations outside of Europe and had become to be regarded as quasi-world championships. From 1974 the world championships changed to an annual schedule, and the European Rowing Championships were discontinued. It was only in 2006 that the International Rowing Federation (FISA) decided to re-establish the European Rowing Championships, with the 2007 event the first regatta after the hiatus.
The 1964 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Bosbaan regatta course in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Women competed from 31 July to 2 August. Men competed the following week from 6 to 9 August. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes, and women entered in five boat classes. Many of the men competed two months later at the Olympic Games in Tokyo; women would first be allowed to compete at Olympic level in 1976.
The 2018 World Rowing Championships were the World Rowing Championships held at the regatta course in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The event was held from 9 to 16 September. Events held were men and women's open class, lightweight class, and para-rowing.
The 2019 World Rowing Championships were held in Ottensheim, Austria from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Apart from Ottensheim, the right to host the championships was contested by Hamburg in Germany, Račice in the Czech Republic, and Varese in Italy.
The 2019 European Rowing Championships was held in Lucerne, Switzerland from 31 May to 2 June 2019.
