Hi {{first_name|JRN Community}},

The summer racing calendar shows no sign of letting up. This week, JRN has coverage of the European Rowing Championships on Lake Varese, where 434 athletes from 41 nations are racing for continental titles across three days, and the U19 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, where 660 athletes from 55 nations will contest 14 boat classes from 6 to 9 August. Royal Canadian Henley also features from next week, and with our annual JRN Awards on the horizon, there is plenty still to come before the summer is out. As ever, it is all in your inbox.

The Editor

Lake Varese hosts the 2026 European Rowing Championships this weekend, with 434 athletes from 41 nations racing for continental titles across three days. Italy provides the backdrop for what promises to be a compelling preview of World Rowing Championship form, with finals from 1 August. JRN has the coverage.

Plovdiv returns to the international stage from 6 to 9 August, hosting the U19 World Rowing Championships for the third time. A field of 660 athletes from 55 nations will contest 14 boat classes, with Great Britain arriving as the benchmark after topping the medal table in Trakai last year. The next generation of world champions takes to the water.

Few events linger in the memory quite like Henley Royal Regatta. JRN sat down with Chair Richard Phelps and Stewards Grace Prendergast and Greg Searle MBE to reflect on a landmark 2026 edition, from the inauguration of three new women's quad events to what makes the Regatta so much more than a rowing competition.

Germany was once the benchmark for what a rowing programme could look like. After a difficult decade, Robert Sens arrived as Head of the German Rowing Federation in late 2024 with a clear-eyed plan: stop copying other nations, rebuild from the club up, and get back to the top. JRN sat down with him to find out how.

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