Para-rowing

Male and female Para-rowers competing in Tokyo

Para-rowing was introduced to the Paralympic programme at Beijing 2008. It is open to athletes with a physical impairment or vision impairment.

Athletes compete in single sculls, double scull, or a coxed four depending on their level of impairment.

For more information on Para-rowing please see the Para-rowing Information Sheet (PDF – 107KB) – updated May 2024.

Medal History

2024Paris
101
2
2020Tokyo
010
1
2016Rio de Janeiro
010
1
2012London
010
1
2008Beijing
010
1

Events and Disciplines

Single Scull (men’s and women’s events)
Double Sculls (mixed)
Coxed Four (mixed)

Classification

Para-rowing is open to athletes with a vision or physical impairment. Athletes are required to submit medical reports and meet the minimum impairment criteria in order to compete. Eligibility is determined by trained Classifiers.

For more information on Eligible Impairments and Classification please see the Para-rowing Information Sheet (PDF – 125KB) – updated August 2024.

Rules and Equipment

The hull of the adaptive rowing boat is identical to able-bodied boats. Adaptive rowing boats are equipped with special seats, which vary according to the disability of the rower. To date, there are no other specifications on the seat apart from the following: the LTA4+ has a sliding seat; the other three boat classes have fixed seats. The TA 2x has a seat, which offers ‘complimentary support’. The AW1x and AM1x are equipped with a seat, which offers ‘ postural support’ to those individuals with compromised sitting balance (i.e. spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy). This ensures the upper body is supported and kept in a fixed position.

Smaller boats are equipped with buoyancy devices called pontoons, which act as stabiliser attached to the boats riggers, providing additional lateral balance.

CONTACTS

We encourage those wishing to explore Para-rowing to contact their state federation in the first instance. The national federation link below provides information on the national high performance program leading to competing internationally and at the Paralympic Games.

National Federation
	Organisation	Website
	Rowing Australia	rowingaustralia.com.au
State Federations
State	Organisation	Website
ACT	Rowing ACT	rowingact.org.au
NSW	Rowing NSW	rowingnsw.asn.au/home
QLD	Rowing QLD	rowingqld.asn.au/home
SA	Rowing SA	rowingsa.asn.au
TAS	Rowing TAS	rowingtasmania.com.au/home
VIC	Rowing VIC	rowingvictoria.asn.au/home
WA	Rowing WA	rowingwa.asn.au/home