Barcelona Eurogames cancels rowing

The 2008 Eurogames organizing committee has eliminated rowing from the schedule of sports disciplines to be offered at the XII Eurogames scheduled for July 2008. The move was revealed after the registration system was launched today and website visitors found rowing was not on the list of sports disciplines. Instead, canoe and kayak has been added to the list of sporting events. The decision came as a surprise to GLRF and is expected to significantly disappoint the many rowers in the European gay and lesbian community who had planned to participate.

The decision comes in spite of repeated efforts by GLRF over the last year to develop liaisons within the Barcelona rowing community and to provide introductions for the Eurogames 2008 staff. These efforts included two separate visits by GLRF to Barcelona in 2007. See related stories. The possibility of a coastal rowing regatta, as an alternative, had begun to take shape and would have provided rowers with a unique opportunity to expand their rowing skills.

GLRF deeply regrets the decision by Eurogames 2008 to eliminate rowing.