AIRO26 rules and information

Dates and window

AIRO26 results are final. Entries closed at 11:59 pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November 2026.

Who can enter

AIRO26 was available to anyone, anywhere, using a Concept2 RowErg. Entries could be independent or through a school, club, gym, workplace or other participating organisation.

Australian residents who meet the AIRC verification standard can also compete for Australian Indoor Rowing Championship titles within AIRO26.

Entry and pricing

One entry covers all four core events, all three challenges and both relays. It also covers AIRC eligibility where you qualify. There is no per-event fee and no additional AIRC fee.

All prices include GST. The increase once the event starts is a late entry fee. Junior pricing applies to U19 and under as at 31 December 2026.

An individual hub may charge its own local venue or session fee.

School activation licences

A school buys a block of seats on one invoice. Students then enter free with the school's activation code. Their metres count for the school.

Organisation team codes

Members register using their organisation's team code. The organisation is then invoiced for those entries. This applies to participating clubs, workplaces and other organisations.

Events

Four core events: The Stack

Together, these four events make The Stack. Each performance will receive an age- and gender-adjusted score. Complete all four to make your Stack whole.

AIRC championship titles are decided on the four core events and the sprint relay.

Extra challenges

• 4-Minute Endurance: four minutes, maximum metres.
• The Six: six 1-minute pieces with 1 minute rest between, scored on total work metres.
• Calorie Ladder: 10-20-30-20-10 calorie rungs, scored on summed work time.

Relays

The relays are Sprint Relay 4x500m and 10K Team Relay. Every relay athlete enters individually. After all four athletes have registered, one athlete forms the crew using all four competitor codes. One crew member submits the single crew result: in the app with the PM5 connected, or with a photo of the PM5 memory screen.

The Lot

Complete all four core events, all three challenges and both relays to do The Lot: all nine AIRO26 events. The Lot is a recognition, not a score, ranking, medal, badge or prize.

The Stack consists of all four core events: The Power Minute, The Sprint, The Kilo and The Olympic Distance.

Repeat attempts

Attempts may be repeated. Your best valid result will count on the leaderboard. Legitimate repeats add to Total Metres. One approved lightweight weigh-in covers all attempts.

Categories

Age is taken as at 31 December 2026.

Each age band has male and female divisions. A category with too few entries may be combined with a neighbouring category.

Lightweight

Lightweight is its own category for athletes aged 19 and over, with its own placings. The limits are 75kg and under for men and 61.5kg and under for women.

Lightweight entrants aged 19 and over must submit a weigh-in with a scale photo, weighed within 72 hours before submitting. One approved weigh-in covers all attempts. Until approval, results show in Open.

Para

Para categories are crossed with gender and age:

• PR1: arms and shoulders.
• PR2: trunk and arms on a fixed seat.
• PR3: legs, trunk and arms on a sliding seat, including ID, PD and VI classes.

Athletes may compete up a para class, never down.

Relay divisions

Relays use male, female, mixed and age-graded divisions.

Junior relay age is set by the oldest crew member. Masters crews need at least three athletes aged 40 or over and an average age of at least 40. Open crews grade by average age.

Relays have no lightweight division.

How to row and submit a result

AIRO26 ran from 00:00 AEDT on Saturday 24 October 2026 to 11:59 pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November 2026. Rowing and result submissions closed at that time.

Under the photo-submission rule, a PM3, PM4 or PM5 photo must show the completed event, result and verification code clearly.

Your codes

The photo-submission rule requires the seven-character competitor code in the form. The event verification code must be visible in the monitor photo. Can't find it? Ask your teacher if you entered through a school, or write to info@rownation.co.

Your competitor code covers the whole event. A PM5 photo also needs the verification code, which is different: it comes from the PM5 for the event you rowed.

Your result

Your official result will be the total on the PM5 summary row, the bold row directly below the column headers.

Row Nation app

1. In the app, competitors could visit Events, select AIRO26, enter their competitor code and tap 'Link my entry'. An entry only needed linking once.
2. Under “Your races”, row your race with the PM5 connected to the app.
3. Tap “Save race”.

If you are offline, the app will show “Saved on your phone, will send when back online”.

For a photo submission in the app, choose “Upload a photo of your monitor”, upload your PM5 photo, then tap “Send photo”.

PM5 photo

1. Include the Concept2 verification code for the event you rowed in your photo. See Concept2’s guide to finding your verification code.

   

2. Take a clear, unaltered photo of the whole screen. Show the completed event, your result on the summary row and the verification code clearly. Without a visible code, your photo may be rejected or queried.
3. Open the AIRO26 photo submission form. Enter your competitor code and pick an entered race.
4. Upload the photo and submit.

ErgRace import

This route will be for hubs racing individual races on ErgRace. ErgRace imports cover distance events. For The Power Minute and the 4-Minute Endurance, submit in the app or with a PM5 photo. Relays cannot be submitted through ErgRace.

1. Ask your hub to put your competitor code in square brackets at the end of your ErgRace name, for example “Jane Smith [ABC1234]” (fictional example).
2. Race your individual event on ErgRace.
3. The school ErgRace submission rule calls for the JSON results file to be emailed to info@rownation.co after each race.

Relay results

The relay rule requires a crew to race together on one erg in one continuous piece. The crew time is that single result; times from separate rows cannot be combined.

After submitting

To query a result, write to info@rownation.co within three business days of its publication.

Will I need video?

Video requirements: Top-3 verification requires the PM5 verification code and a PM5 memory-screen photo, with no video required. Anyone claiming a Concept2 record must follow Concept2's own record-claim requirements.

App or site not loading on Wi-Fi?

Switch to mobile data or a hotspot. Ask your school, gym or work IT team to allow rownation.app and its subdomains.

Verification and AIRC championship titles

Top-3 finishers verify with the PM5 verification code and a clear PM5 memory-screen photo showing the result and code. No video is needed for top-3 verification. Anyone claiming a Concept2 record must follow Concept2's own record-claim requirements.

Australian residents who meet the championship standard and complete the applicable verification process can have their result marked AIRC Verified. There is no separate AIRC entry or additional AIRC fee.

Official AIRC Hubs are approved public venues. Schools, clubs, gyms and workplaces can also run private cohort sessions.

Anti-doping and integrity

AIRO26 is held under Rowing Australia's integrity policies, including its anti-doping rules. By entering, you agree to be bound by them, and any competitor may be tested. Some off-the-shelf supplements contain banned substances, so check yours before you race.

• Rowing Australia integrity policies
• Sport Integrity Australia: supplements in sport

Records

Concept2 record claims follow Concept2's own requirements. A record is recognised only once Concept2 ratifies it.

If you're chasing a 2K record, follow Concept2's Online 2K Requirements, which include a video. Row with the Concept2 ErgData app or the Row Nation app, linked to your Concept2 Logbook, so Concept2 has your stroke-by-stroke data to check against the video (if your hub races you on ErgRace, you don't need either app, but you still need the video).

Stack completers

Complete all four core events with checked, published results between 24 October and 1 November 2026 to be a verified Stack completer. This also enters you in the Concept2 RowErg draw, subject to the draw terms below.

Stack shirts

Limited Stack shirts are free. You pay postage. We post to Australian addresses only, after the event closes.

Medals

Optional medals are available for AIRC gold, silver and bronze places in the four core events and the Sprint Relay 4x500m, with one medal per relay crew member. Medals go to the podium in every published category of those events, including age groups, lightweight, para (PR1 to PR3) and para lightweight. Each medal is $27.50. Postage is $17.50 per order, however many medals you order. The supplier posts medals direct, to Australian addresses only. Medal orders closed at 12 pm Monday 9 November 2026, Sydney time (AEDT).

Concept2 RowErg draw: terms

1. Promoter: Row Nation Pty Ltd (ABN 80 651 087 035). Prize: one Concept2 RowErg.
2. Who's in: verified Stack completers. That means all four core events (1 minute, 500m, 1K, 2K) with checked, published results between 24 October and 1 November 2026.
3. One entry per verified Stack completer. The draw happens once results are finalised, by Friday 13 November 2026.
4. We contact the winner by the email on their entry. They have 14 days to reply, or we redraw.
5. Concept2 Australia ships the RowErg direct to the winner, who supplies delivery details with consent. Australian addresses only.
6. No cash alternative. The prize can't be transferred.
7. We announce the winner by first name and last initial, with their consent.
8. Row Nation staff and their immediate families can't enter. Under-18 winners receive the prize through a parent or guardian.
9. Questions: info@rownation.co

Teams and affiliations

Choose one affiliation, such as a rowing club, school, gym, workplace or other participating organisation. You can also register independently.

Within an affiliation you may join one team, such as a school house, squad or department. You can edit your entry, including your affiliation, until the end of Friday 23 October AEDT. After that, contact support. School entrants: ask your school's team manager.

Your metres contribute to your own total and AIRO26 Total Metres. If you select a team and affiliation, they also contribute to those totals.

Affiliations compete on three boards:

• Total Metres: metres from every member contribute to the affiliation's tally.
• Affiliation Stack: the affiliation's best adjusted score in each of the four core events will combine into one total. A better result will take the slot automatically.
• Stack Finishers: the number of members who complete all four core events.

Contact and help

For AIRO26 questions, email info@rownation.co.

Back to the AIRO26 main page