The road to the NKIR 2025: Indoor Rowing Competition
by
Nicole Franco
on
Dec 9, 2025
On 13 December 2025, athletes from across the Netherlands, and beyond, will gather in South Amsterdam for the Nederlands Kampioenschap Indoorroeien (NKIR), the Dutch National Indoor Rowing Championship. For competitors, organizers, and partners alike, the road to the NKIR is never one of little work. It’s a journey built on training, technology, and tradition.
But long before it became one of the most iconic indoor rowing events in Europe, the NKIR began with a small spark.
From Student Competition to National Championship
The history of the NKIR dates back to 1990, when the Amsterdam student rowing club Nereus organized the first ergometer competition to mark its 21st anniversary. The event was an instant success. In a time when indoor rowing competitions were rare worldwide, the Netherlands quickly established itself as a pioneer in the field.
The popularity of the event grew so rapidly that it evolved into the Open Dutch Ergometer Championship (ONEK), attracting a significant number of international rowers. In collaboration with the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation, the competition was officially designated a national championship, and since 1999, it has carried the name we know today: the NKIR.
The format remains true to rowing tradition: 2,000 meters, all-out.
Indoor Rowing: A Sport Transformed
Indoor rowing has undergone massive growth in recent years, not just in the Netherlands, but globally. As World Rowing notes, advances in technology and shifting participation habits have fueled the evolution of Indoor and Connected Rowing, transforming the discipline into an accessible, interactive, and highly competitive space.
Jean-Christophe Rolland, President of World Rowing, captured this shift well:
“We are witnessing a fundamental shift in how people engage with sport, and Indoor Rowing is at the forefront of this transformation. With Indoor / Connected Rowing, we can offer athletes of all levels an opportunity to compete, engage, and push their limits in ways never seen before.”
The sport is no longer confined to training centers or gyms. Connected hardware and real-time digital competition now link rowers across countries and time zones, redefining what it means to compete.
MoveLab and RP3: Powering the Connected Rowing Experience
This transformation is exactly where MoveLab has focused its mission, and why the NKIR holds unique significance for us. For another year, MoveLab is proud to participate in the NKIR as the official technology partner of RP3, the main rowing machine used in the competition.
For us, "The Road to the NKIR" is more than preparation, it’s the culmination of many things we have built:
Real-time data streaming
High availability architecture
Third Party Integration with TimeTeam
Intuitive interfaces for athletes
Accurate live results and rankings
Post race analyses through the RP3 Portal
Hardware integrations that bring connected rowing to life
A longstanding partnership with RP3
The NKIR is the moment where all these components meet. It’s where athletes experience the full impact of connected rowing technology, and where our team sees years of development come to life through performance, competition, and community.
See You in South Amsterdam
We’re incredibly excited for this year’s NKIR. Whether you’re competing, cheering, coaching, or simply curious about the future of indoor rowing, this event captures the energy and innovation driving the sport forward.
We hope to see you there—13 December 2025, South Amsterdam.
