The event will be staged on Saundersfoot Beach, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Andy Parkinson, British Rowing CEO commented, “We are delighted to be able to bring international rowing back to Great Britain for the first time since 2018. The British rowing community has a long history of delivering world-class events and we look forward tremendously to hosting the international rowing family again in 2022.”

The 2022 World Rowing Coastal Championships and Beach Sprint Finals will be staged off Saundersfoot Beach in Wales in association with Welsh Rowing and supported by Welsh Sea Rowing. The event will take place over two weekends in October and, with the event in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, British Rowing is aiming to lead the way in environmentally-friendly event delivery.

“The exciting nature of coastal rowing will fit perfectly with the Pembrokeshire coast. We already know that British Rowing has the capability of staging world-class events and we are looking forward to working with the organising committee to make these events truly memorable,” said FISA (World Rowing) President Jean-Christophe Rolland. 

It is anticipated that some form of coastal rowing will become part of the Olympic programme from Paris 2024 onwards so it’s particularly exciting for British Rowing to be hosting an event in the new Olympic discipline.

Coastal rowing, as a whole, offers a fantastic opportunity for the sport of rowing to broaden its reach into the coastal communities around the world and beach sprints, in particular, presents an exhilarating new format of the sport hoping to capture the attention of a younger, more diverse audience.

The event will be hosted in association with Welsh Rowing and supported by Welsh Sea Rowing. Theo Huckle QC, Chair of Welsh Rowing, said “We are thrilled to be hosting the World Rowing Coastal Championships and Beach Sprints Finals in 2022 at Saundersfoot. West Wales has shown how successfully it can host international sports events and we now have the wonderful opportunity for Wales and Saundersfoot to represent the UK and be at the forefront of developments of rowing as a global and accessible sport for all.”

As a potential new Olympic discipline, the hosting of the event will be supported by funding from UK Sport and Welsh Government. Esther Britten, Head of Major Events at UK Sport said, “Our ambition is to continue to evolve our major events programme by securing innovative and impactful sporting events to take place right across the UK. We are delighted to be able to add this World Championships to our programme and look forward to working with new host Saundersfoot, British Rowing, FISA and the Welsh Government.”