This paper offers a defense of weight categories in rowing. Lightweight rowing—the most commonly used term for the weight category in rowing`s often bifurcated categorisation system—is under credible threat of being eliminated at virtually all levels of rowing in Canada and the U.S. (Giesbrecht 2020; Moran 2018; Usrowing n.d.). The health concerns associated with weight loss reflect the most problematic aspects of lightweight rowing, where the acceptable limits of harm that one must tolerate in sport are brought into question. Additionally, for lightweights who are nearly as competitive as their openweight counterparts, such category protection may be unnecessary. These concerns prompt reflection on the purpose and policies behind these categories. The impetus for this paper accordingly stems from the lack of detailed explanation for this kind of categorisation. Justification for weight categories is scant or has simply been assumed as legitimate within the status quo and so, in the absence of any constructive debate on the topic, I will attempt to articulate the neglected rationale for why lightweight rowing ought to exist. In doing so, suggestions for further rules and policy improvements to lightweight rowing will be identified. Lightweight rowing faces challenges on two fronts: from the IOC at the elite senior level, and from Canadian and U.S. rowing governing organizations at the junior level. The role of the first section will be to describe in more detail the state of lightweight rowing as a category coming under increasing scrutiny. The genesis for most of the negative perceptions of the lightweight rowing category revolves around the harms that such a category may potentially cause, which the subsequent section will review. The empirical evidence will indeed reflect that there is a possibility of significant harm for those competing in lightweight categories. However, the possibility of harm that may occur within a lightweight category needs to be understood within the context of how certain risks of harm are tolerated in sport. The proceeding sections will accordingly situate `harm` in the frame of current policy and rule governance in Canadian and U.S. rowing organizations. There I attempt to engender an awareness of how lightweight rowing may not be exceptionally subject to risks of harm compared to any other sport. It will then be argued that prohibition of lightweight categories based on their potential for producing harm is poorly justified, although changes and improvements to policy and weight limits ought to be made. The final section proposes that lightweight categories can ultimately serve to benefit rowing and its participants by cultivating different skills and fostering recognition.
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