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The Council of FISA, the International Rowing Federation, announced in Lucerne, Switzerland, its decision for the awarding of the 2013 World Rowing Championships and, at the same time, the 2014 Championships.

The announcements followed a ten-month process during which the three bids were examined and each candidate city visited by the FISA inspection team. During the recent Rowing World Cup in Munich, the candidates had the opportunity to present their bids to the FISA Council and provide clarification on specific areas.

Chungju, Korea, is the Council's selection for the 2013 World Rowing Championships, ahead of rival candidates: Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Brandenburg (Germany). The Council then announced that, in light of the current global financial situation, it felt that it would be prudent to also secure a high quality Championships for 2014. Both Amsterdam and Brandenburg put themselves forward as candidates for the 2014 Championships. Based on their assessment of the two bids, including facilities, racing conditions, financial support and organising committee experience, the Council decided to award the 2014 World Rowing Championships to Amsterdam. Both decisions are subject to confirmation by the FISA Congress on 31 August 2009 in Poznan, Poland.

Situated approximately 200km southeast of Seoul and in the precise centre of the Korean Peninsula, Chungju is a city of 200'000 people. The Tangeum Lake, on which the 2013 Championships will take place, was the venue of the 2007 Asian Rowing Championships. The lake lies on the Han River, one of four rivers included in the Korean government's Four Major Rivers Environmental Project, an initiative intended to revitalise the rivers and prevent future flooding. The City of Chungju's government and South Korea's national government are both firmly supportive of the bid and are funding the installation of new state-of-the-art facilities for the venue. These will provide another first-class centre for rowing on the Asian continent.

The Bosbaan regatta course in Amsterdam is well known to the international rowing family; the home of the annual Holland Beker International Rowing Regatta, Bosbaan, has also hosted the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in 2005 and the World Rowing Junior Championships in 2006. The awarding of the 2014 World Rowing Championships to Amsterdam will mark the successful culmination of a sustained campaign by the Dutch Rowing Federation to secure a World Championships for the city and will boost Amsterdam's campaign to host the 2028 Olympic Games.

FISA Executive Director Matt Smith commented that "the 2009 bid process and the quality of the documentation received have raised the bar of World Rowing Championships bids. In particular, it has highlighted the increasing importance that cities and governments attach to the hosting of World Rowing events and utilize the sport of rowing to achieve multiple objectives, such as the sport-tourism, environmental campaigns and even Olympic bids."

(Source: FISA)