U15 Events Removal

USRowing – with support from its regional and national youth regatta councils – will remove the U15 events (Men’s/Women’s 4x+) from the 2025 Youth National Championships.  

Change Summary 

Safety and well-being. While U15 athletes represented 3% of total participants at Youth Nationals in 2024, they accounted for 66% of exclusions – nearly all due to failures to yield during time trials. U15 entries’ lack of racing experience has resulted in safety concerns for other participants and heartbroken athletes who traveled significant distances only to lose the opportunity to compete in sprint racing.  

These athletes also have been pulled from boats for medical reasons at a higher rate than other participants. Feedback from on-site safeguarding and medical professionals has consistently noted that U15 athletes often lack the physical and emotional resilience to manage and adapt to the regatta’s racing and environmental conditions. 

Finally, our evaluation of U15 competition at Youth Nationals against our American Development Model and the approaches other rowing federations take regarding long-term athlete development (LTAD) reinforced our safety and well-being reasoning:  

Rowing Federation LTAD Youth Athlete Approach             

Great Britain     

• U15 at National Championships, but race 1,000-meters 

Australia 

• U17 youngest age category at National Championships 

Rowing Canada 

• U17 youngest age category in the stated rules of rowing 

Stakeholder Feedback. Post-event responses from coaches highlighted that many of their own U15 athletes were not ready to compete at the national championship level, which aligned with the safety and well-being concerns noted above. 

In addition, we received specific comments regarding U15 event elimination from 23 stakeholders across 15 separate rowing programs. Of those stakeholders, 9 unique stakeholders commented in favor removing these events; of the 14 that commented for keeping them, four were from the same rowing program. 

Ability to compete regionally and “race up” at Youth Nationals. The youth regatta series still offers opportunities for U15 athletes to compete at hosted USRowing events. The U15 Men’s/Women’s 4x+ will still be held at all six USRowing Youth Regional Championships. In addition, coaches who believe their U15 athletes are prepared to compete at Youth Nationals can still race in an older age category. 

Next Steps 

USRowing will continue working with stakeholders on competition opportunities, race distances, and athlete development pathways for U15 athletes. Our focus will be to provide a positive experience for all participants that aligns with long-term development principles.