Why Gent And Not Antwerp For The Rowing Venue?

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There is no place to hold a competition in Antwerp. The canal is used for commercial boat and tug traffic and the only time it is open for private boat use is on Sunday, but it is clogged with pleasure boats.

 

Yes, there is one rowing club in Antwerp and although the main club house is on the canal, the competitive rowers use a small storage shed off of a side canal to row during the week. The width of the canal is too narrow for a competition and it doesn't have a long enough straight course.

 

Okay so why not the star of Belgium's rowing venues, Hazewinkel? Because the course is used by professional teams and other summer programs and to interrupt that programming for a small regatta was determined to be unsupportable. Also, there are only two rowing clubs there that could feasibly organize the event, and I think there may have been some political considerations betwixt the Belgian Rowing Federation and the host clubs ....