News The triathlon test event that rocked Copacabana this weekend may have just finished, but the city is already getting ready to stage its next preparatory competition for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games This Wednesday (5 August) – exactly one year from the Olympic Games opening ceremony – the rowing test event begins at Lagoa Stadium It will be the first competition considered ‘major’ by the Rio 2016, that is to say, an event in which a large number of the organising committee's departments will be in actionClick here to see the Rio 2016 test event calendar “One of the most important aspects of this test event will be the learning curve in relation to the building and dismantling of a temporary structure in a public area,” said João Victor, manager of the venue at the iconic Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in the centre of Rio's south zone “I’m nervous, but I know that I will feel better when the competition starts, because everything will be fine,” said venue manager Colleen Orsmond “We are working closely with the International Federation, which is giving us all the necessary support ”The test event will be the 2015 World Rowing Junior Championships (for rowers up to 18 years old) and will gather 563 athletes from 54 countries, a number even greater than the Olympic tournament, for which 550 competitors are expected There will be 13 boat classes in the contest, just one less than at Rio 2016, and Brazil will be represented by six boats – four in the men’s tournament and two in the women’s Contrary to the triathlon test event in Copacabana, which offered open access to the public, tickets will be on sale for the rowing event (here), and Orsmond expects that the 1,300-capacity stands (much less than the 10,000 seats foreseen for the Olympic Games) will be full for the final on Sunday (9 August) Another key difference concerns the nature of the competition: while the triathlon guaranteed a spot at Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the top three male and female athletes, the rowing competition is not a qualifying event for the Olympic Games During the competition at Lagoa, Rio 2016 will have around 130 employees from 25 departments on deck, as well as over 500 volunteers Besides the competition area, the central focus of all test events, Orsmond’s attention will be around the athlete service area, such as the boat garage and the warm-up venues Learn more about the event here Still to come in August, Rio will stage the test events for equestrian (at the Olympic Equestrian Centre, from 6-9 August), sailing (at Marina da Glória, from 15-22 August), road cycling (at Fort Copacabana, on 16 August) and marathon swimming (also at Fort Copacabana, from 22-23 August)