On May 6, 1937, the first rowing competition was held on the then 2,200 meter long and 72 meter wide track. This concerned the 60th edition of the Varsity, which was previously held in the North Sea Canal. Because the Bosbaan was too short for the Varsity, this competition was moved to another location in 1940. The Bosbaan was only used once for this competition in 1971.
The Bosbaan was an alternative to the Amstel river and the Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeerpolder, where rowing competitions were also held. The water depth is 3 meters and therefore just meets the minimum requirement for international competitions.
To comply with the applicable rules for international rowing events, the Bosbaan has been widened twice. The first time in 1963 with an expansion to six lanes and 92 meters, prior to the 1964 European Championship. The second time was in 2001 to 118 meters and eight competition lanes to meet the current conditions for world championships.