away from the field of competition, in
traditional wooden boats and not in slim
shells, rowers with a craving for discovery
and cultural experience glide down the
meandering rivers and across lakes in
various regions of the world while taking
part in FiSa’s annual world rowing tour.
Issue 8 – April 2009
A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
It was the first time the tour was organised in a
South American and Spanish-speaking country.
“For many of the participants, it was their first trip
to South America,” says tour rower Helmut Hoppe.
“Therefore, rowing in a South American country
was also a new experience. I liked to leave rainy
and autumnal Europe and spend a vacation in
the early South American summer.”
Some rowers make it a habit to take part each
year, but the participation of a number of
new adepts ensures that FISA’s touring group
remains fresh. “There is a mix of people who
know each other well and always enough new
folk that nobody feels like the lone newbie,” says
Peter Bursztyn who went on his fourth tour in
2008. “The old hands all seem to work to make
them feel at home.”
During the week-long tour, daily rowing distances
average 35 to 40 kilometres with people mingling
in a new boat each morning. In 2008, the World
Rowing Tour went to Germany in the spring and
to Argentina in October.
The Argentina tour took place in the Buenos Aires
Province, in the Paraná River Delta, where many
rowing clubs have been established. Jens Kolberg,
member of FISA’s Rowing For All Commission and
coordinator of the tour with the local organising
committee from Buenos Aires Rowing Club
explains the history of rowing in the area: “The
city of Tigre, located by the end of the delta about
30 kilometres outside Buenos Aires, was early
established as the cradle for Argentinean rowing,
and immigrants, mainly from southern Europe,
set up rowing clubs as social and sport gathering
points to maintain the culture and atmosphere of
the old countries. Among a total of 15 clubs, >
