Many thanks to the volunteers who helped building this app.
Let us welcome you in Amsterdam. An amazing city, with many faces. From the historic heart of the city to the high-tech buildings on the city’s new Zuidas, Amsterdam is a lively city and it invites you to come over and enjoy its pleasures. It is a place with a creative and informal atmosphere, a metropolis at the size of a village. Amsterdam has a lot to offer: some of the greatest works of art in the world, more canals than Venice, more bridges than Paris and 7,000 monumental buildings. No wonder Amsterdam’s ancient centre is a nominee for UNESCO’s world heritage list. Amsterdam has many other surprises as well. From world famous diamond factories
to the city’s many bars or nightclubs, 24 hours a day, Amsterdam will provide you with its endless possibilities and its free, open spirit. Welcome to Amsterdam!
I look forward to meeting you all in Amsterdam in 2011!
Dr. Eberhard van der Laan
Mayor of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
For more information about Amsterdam, please visit the following website:
www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/visitingportal
The Bosbaan rowing course is a man-made course. In the 1930’s it was constructed through a social welfare project. Queen Wilhelmina officially opened the Bosbaan on June 12th 1937. It was the venue of several European Rowing Championships in the fifties and sixties. The facilities and course were upgraded in the early seventies to a 6 lane race course plus 1 spare lane. Amsterdam successfully organised the European Rowing Championships in 1964 (the first European Championships including female competitors) and 1967 and the World Rowing Championships in 1977.
Up until 2000, the Bosbaan hosted many national and international regattas, tournaments and championships. Such as the National Championships, the Nations Cup, the Coupe de la Jeunesse, the FISU World University Championships, the FISA World Cup in 1990 and 1991 and the annual international Koninklijke – Hollandbeker Regatta.
In 2001, the city of Amsterdam, together with the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation, broadened, deepened and renewed the regatta course to upgrade the Bosbaan to meet the 21st century standards. The new 8 lane course was completed in 2002, together with an enlarged boathouse and new sanitary facilities. In addition, new facilities along the race course were built.
With a broadened course, a new timing system, a new boat house, an upgrade of the start area with a traffic light starting system, a new finish tower and aligner’s hut, an Olympic training centre and several other new facilities, the upgraded Bosbaan has been the venue for many national and international regattas and championships. In 2005, Amsterdam successfully hosted the FISA World Rowing Under 23 Championships and in 2006 the FISA World Rowing Junior Championships. In 2003, the international Royal Holland Beker Regatta started again, and in 2007 was combined with the second Rowing World Cup. Athletes very much like the conditions for the crews on the water, the facilities for the athletes and the friendliness of the organisation. The ‘Dutch’ enthusiasm on the bikes and on the rolling grand stand along the course is famous and inspires rowers to great performances.
The course
The Bosbaan is now completely in tune with the current FISA requirements. The course, with a total length of 2300 metres, runs from southwest to northeast. On the north side you’ll find a natural footpath, the main event location and the Olympic Training Centre (OTC). On the south side there are cameras, a cycling
path for coaches and, unique to the world, a rolling grand stand. The rolling grand stands consist of large
trucks on which large grandstands have been built. From these rolling grand stands, the audience can view the
rowing competition in a magnificent way and root for their favourite athletes. The 2.2 meter deep race
course is equipped with the Albano buoy system. Alongside the entire track there are huts that are used for measuring the interval times. The banks have been rebuilt with extra wave
absorbing blocks and an ecological reed border.
The start area
The start area still has the original start tower of the 1977 World Championships. In the spacious building, starters and other officials have an open view on the course. The public address systems in the start area and at 100 metre mark ensure that crews receive clear communications from the officials. On the roof there is a large and safe place for television and video cameras to capture live images of the start. The start-fingers have been completely integrated into the start-island. In this way these installations perfectly blend into the natural surroundings.
The finish area
The finish area is a site of many activities. The finish tower is the centre of the timing and results system. Here the umpires, photo-finish-cameras and the FISA timing and results service provider Swiss Timing, track all the races and determine the finishing order. On the second floor of the finish tower, the commentators have an excellent view of the race course and provide live coverage of the races in several languages. Behind the finish tower, on top of the embankment, is the Olympic Training Centre. This is where the FISA staff and Commissions have their offices. The embankment between the finish tower and the OTC will house temporary grandstands to accommodate the spectators, FISA family and the international press and media. An enormous video screen will be visible from the public grand stand. It will show live coverage of all the races from start to finish and, immediately after the finish, the results of each race. During the finals, the victory ceremonies will take place directly in front of the grandstand, enabling spectators to take a close look at the winners.