These reports are being published on the FISA website. Please visit www.worldrowing.com  for more information.

August 26

FISA, the International Rowing Federation, has now confirmed that the 2005 World Rowing Championships will start on 29 August, only one day later than planned, at 9:30 am Japanese time (01:30 hrs GMT).

Due to very heavy rain last week and typhoon Mawar which just missed Gifu this week, the championship’s schedule has been in doubt. However, the weather has now stabilized and the regatta can now go forward. The Organising committee in Gifu completed dismantled the whole venue infrastructure in anticipation of the typhoon which is currently devastating Tokyo but is working very efficiently now to put everything back in place for Monday’s racing. Heats will be raced on 29 and 30 August, all repechages on 31 August, and then the normal programme of semi finals on 1 and 2 September followed by the finals on 3 and 4 September.

For a full updated race schedule, entries and race information, click here.

August 25

Gifu World Rowing Championships Weather Improves

There has been a significant improvement in the weather forecast in Gifu, Japan where Typhoon Mawar is now expected to have a lower impact than previously thought. If the current weather forecast remains, the International Rowing Federation (FISA) has announced that racing at the 2005 World Rowing Championships may start on 29 August.

Gifu’s organising committee are preparing to reset the course facilities as soon as possible to ensure that on-the-water training on the buoyed course can commence.

This will mean that heats could be raced over two days, 29 and 30 August, all repechages could be raced on 31 August, and the regatta programme would resume its original timetable as of 1 September for the last four days of semi-finals and finals. A final assessment will be made on Friday, once Typhoon Mawar has passed Gifu.

The entire infrastructure of the regatta course was removed earlier this week in expectation of high winds of up to 25 meters per second. All boats were stored in permanent facilities. If the weather stays as currently forecasted, training on the water should resume early tomorrow morning, 26 August, and the buoys should be back in the water by Saturday.

In the meantime, crews have been training on the 114 rowing ergometers which were supplied by the organising committee for these unnusual circumstances.

FISA and the organisers had prepared for difficult conditions after an unusually high number of typhoons hit Japan in the months of July and August 2004. From 2000 to 2003, only two typhoons were observed in July and two in August while last year, 2004, a total of five typhoons during July.

Visit the official World Rowing website www.worldrowing.com all updates as well as a full list of entries, a racing timetable as well as an extensive boat class preview. During racing, this website will provide live scoring, interviews, press releases, start lists and full results.

For more information, contact FISA Marketing and Communications Manager Marion Gallimore at marion.gallimore@fisa.org or Japanese Mobile +81-80-5504-4694.

August 24

World Rowing Championships Postponed for 48 hours

The International Rowing Federation FISA today announced that the start of the 2005 World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan will be postponed for 48 hours due to typhoon Mawar. The Championships will now take place over six days from 30 August to 4 September 2005. Typhoon Mawar will, according to weather forecasts, touch the Japanese mainland tonight, 24 August, and create unrowable weather conditions through to 28 August. The whole infrastructure of the regatta course is now nearly all removed from the flood plain in expectation of the high winds of up to 25 meters per second. All boats are being removed and stored in permanent facilities. There will be no rowing on the water for the more than 800 rowers over the next three days but the organising committee has put in place 114 rowing ergometers which will allow the rowers to continue to train.

The regatta programme has been condensed from the usual eight days to six days. The first two days of qualifying heats will be compressed into one day, Tuesday, 30 August. The second round called “repechages” will also be compressed into one day on Wednesday, 31 August 2005. The final four days of semi-finals and finals will, for the moment, be unchanged. The regatta “Draw for Lanes” has also been moved 48 hours to 15:00 hrs on Sunday, 28 August.

FISA and the organisers have prepared for difficult conditions after an unusually high number of typhoons hit Japan in the months of July and August 2004. From 2000 to 2003, only two typhoons were observed in July and two in August while last year, 2004, a total of five typhoons during July and August hit Japan. During the ten years before 2000, there were very few, if any, typhoons in this period of time. FISA with the organising committee published a contingency scenario document to all teams well in advance to prepare them for this possibility so there are no surprises here.

The event takes place at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course centrally situated at the very heart of Japan, two hours from Tokyo, one from Osaka and 20 minutes from Nagoya by bullet train. The 10 lane, buoyed fresh water course is on the Nagara River and was first opened in 1998. This is the first time since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics that an international rowing event has been in Japan and the first time the World Rowing Championships have been hosted by an Asia nation.

Visit the official World Rowing website www.worldrowing.com all updates as well as a full list of entries, a racing timetable as well as an extensive boat class preview. During racing, this website will provide live scoring, interviews, press releases, start lists and full results.

For more information, contact FISA Marketing and Communications Manager Marion Gallimore at marion.gallimore@fisa.org or Japanese Mobile +81-80-5504-4694.

Update from August 23, 2005, at 8:35 a.m. local time.

Teams are getting in their last bit of on-the-water training today in Gifu, Japan, the venue of the 2005 World Rowing Championships as plans are made for the approaching typhoon.

FISA’s Events Director Svetla Otzetova said that at present it is very calm on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course. “Crews are training although there is still a current today and the water level is higher.”

The forecast for tomorrow, 24 August, is also relatively calm and it is expected that training will continue throughout the day in good conditions. “The current will be reduced as the river gates will be closed tonight and will remain closed until the regatta finishes on 4 September,” says Otzetova.

The latest weather forecast shows that the typhoon has slowed and changed direction but the wind speed will begin to rise on Thursday, 25 August in the morning and increase through the next day reaching its peak on Friday 26 August. The maximum wind speed is predicted at 45 km/hour. The wind will then diminish on Saturday 27 August.

“We expect that it will not be possible to train on the water from the 25th to the 27th," says FISA’s Executive Director Matt Smith.

On Wednesday teams will move their boats into the permanent boathouse and a nearby gym so training will then take place on ergs.

Reinstallation of the course will begin the evening of the 27th and go through the night,” says Otzetova. “By 6am on the 29th the course will be back in place. Teams can train on the 28th, but outside of the racing course while the installation is happening.”

At this stage racing has been rescheduled to start on 30 August, two days later than the planned start date. This means that the original first four days of racing will be compressed into two days.

After the typhoon has left the wind speed is expected to be about 2 metres/second.

Currently the humidity in Gifu is high with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius. There is no rain.

Update from August 22, 2005, at 9:18 a.m. local time.

Currently Gifu, Japan, venue of the 2005 World Rowing Championships, is experiencing heavy rain and wind as the area prepares for an approaching typhoon.

The typhoon is expected to reach Gifu on 25 August and last about 18 hours. Already the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course buoys have been removed due to strong currents caused by rain higher up the Nagara River.

FISA events director Svetla Otzetova says at present the course is calm and rowers from the 37 countries that have already arrived are out training. “The situation is under control and we are establishing slots when training is possible on the course. Training is alright for the next couple of days.”

The organising committee has brought in 100 rowing machines for the athletes to train on if the weather deteriorates and these are under a tent that can sustain typhoon conditions.

FISA Executive Director Matt Smith says that the course will be re-installed between 26 and 27 August. “Hopefully racing can start as planned on the 28th,” says Smith. “There are Team Manager meetings twice a day to keep everyone on site fully informed.”

“River courses, like Gifu and Vienna, are subject to large water flows when there are heavy rains. It takes only a day or so to recover to the original water level. For those who weren’t around in 1991, the Danube (Vienna) flooded one week before the World Rowing Championships. The Vienna fire department put things back in place and the event was successful. In Gifu we have the full support of the authorities.”

Typhoons are common in this area with accurate monitoring being used and contingency plans already in place.

The Gifu contingency scenario can be viewed at www.worldrowing.com.