World Rowing is strengthening its presence in eSports. The world rowing body has announced that it will host the 2025 World Indoor Championships in February, in collaboration with the Concept2 brand. They will be held over two weekends, exclusively in virtual mode, in real time on five continents. The event will bring together elite athletes, amateur rowers and ergometer practitioners from the fitness world. The qualification process will begin in November 2024, with the first phase open until January 2025. The top 150 times of each gender and weight category per continental time zone will earn their ticket to the elimination rounds. At the end of the elimination rounds, the top 50 rowers in each category will continue their adventure in the semi-finals, where only the top 20 will be invited to the final. The competition will award indoor world rowing championship titles in all age categories, from juniors to masters, as well as new events, including relays for universities, schools and professional categories (police/firefighters/armed forces, etc.). A long-distance event, contested over 5 km, is also on the programme. In addition, World Rowing has announced plans to launch a new virtual series next year, with competitions throughout the year, as well as a " Versa Challenge Finals " in person, in the fourth quarter of 2025. Finally, the body explains " actively working towards the inclusion of indoor rowing in the first edition of the esports Olympics”, planned in Saudi Arabia in the last quarter of 2025.
