The International Waterbike Regatta (IWR) gathers students of naval architecture from all over Europe. It is a competition to compare the new and experienced boats of the participating teams to each other, in disciplines like short and long distances, acceleration, slalom and bollard pull.The IWR was held the first time in Hanover (Germany) in 1980. The event was created to motivate students to apply their theoretical knowledge into practice in a sportive manner. Another purpose was the technical exchange among students and the possibility to create lasting contacts for future collaborations.In 2015, the IWR will take place in Berlin. In the previous 35 years, the IWR took place in many european countries like Germany, Poland, Turkey, Croatia, France, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and Norway.The event is attended by over 300 students each year and provides a basis to discuss technical problems and their solutions, getting in touch with students overseas and to have a lot of fun racing the boats.The competition between the different universities lead to high-tech waterbikes, lightweight constructions made of CFK, reaching speeds of more than ten knots. |


Pictures of the IWR 1994 |