The Work Behind Every Rowing Club & Program

Running a rowing club or program is challenging, involving people, equipment, facilities, and processes. The revised NK Sports Rowing Grant Program is part of the solution.

Rowing is hard. It is a technical and demanding sport. Running rowing programs, managing a rowing club, and administering a crew is also hard. It's much more fun to just focus on the rowing itself, taking the next stroke, feeling the run, improving the split, getting the crew in time, and enjoying being on the water with your club. To do that, you need equipment that works, robust safety policies and practices, someone keeping memberships up to date, and much more. And then what about making rowing more inclusive, bringing the sport to underserviced communities or schools? Behind every rowing club and program are people, equipment, facilities, and processes. None of this is easy. The newly revised NK Sports Rowing Grant Program is one of the solutions.

Rowing Club & Program Challenges

Let's put aside for the moment the challenges of the rowing technique or of coaching, whether for juniors or coaching masters rowers. What makes a successful rowing club or rowing program? What obstacles need to be overcome and problems for which solutions are needed?

The Sportlyzer Blog listed seven daily problems for sports club managers:

• Emails. Constant emails
• General lack of funds
• Dealing with parents
• Expectations of instant success
• Managing equipment
• The work never really stops
• People don't get "your" sport

Sound familiar? In Germany, the greatest difficulties of sports clubs relate to the recruitment and retention of volunteers, but also of athletes, coaches, officials, and members. Faster Masters Rowing conducted a survey in 2022 and found that the biggest challenges for clubs are recruiting new members, fundraising, coaching, and equipment.

The Covid 19 pandemic exacerbated problems, with boathouses closed, crew boats prohibited, and schools gone virtual. British researchers concluded that while the lockdown highlighted the importance of exercise, some grassroots sports clubs closed permanently. They point the finger at the lack of money and stability in funding, partially through cutbacks in government support programs. Inflation and increased costs for almost everything from gas for the trailer and coach boat to insurance to supplies are adding to the challenges of running a rowing club or rowing program. If club membership declines or university or school funding is reduced, programs are restricted or sometimes scrapped altogether.



NK Sports Rowing Grant Program

NK Sports has supported the rowing community for many years and in many ways, especially through the NK Sports Rowing Grant Program. The program offers a total of eight athlete grants worth $500 each and four program grants worth $1000 each. Recipients are free to use the grant money towards the purchase of any NK Sports product they choose. In 2023, the previous annual submission process has changed to a quarterly basis. Grant applications are now being accepted four times a year, providing more chances for rowing organizations and individuals to receive the support they need.

The feedback about the program has been consistently positive. Some past grant recipients have gone on to great things in rowing. Savannah Brija, a 2021 recipient, was a USRowing national team member in 2022, and continues to train for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Kristen Kit, coxswain for the Canadian women's eight received a CoxBox in 2019. That CoxBox served the crew at World Rowing Cups and Championships and was in the gold medal winning boat at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Other Solutions for Rowing Clubs & Programs

While the problems and barriers may be daunting at times, rowers seem to embody perseverance and resilience. Here are some tips and ideas to address rowing club and program challenges.

MONEY: It is a rare club or program which couldn't use more. Money might come from university or school coffers, membership fees, and through donors and other fundraising efforts. Once you have money, equally important is handling finances. British Rowing has a very useful page of resources for clubs with many downloadable guides. One is on rowing club management, with a lengthy chapter on financial management. There are explanations, tips, and critical questions on budgeting, cash flow management, reducing costs, alternate income streams, and attracting sponsorship.

ReadyAllRow offers an all-hands-on-the-boat list of ways to raise money for your club, such as:

• Crowdfunding
• Naming rights
• Ergathons
• Selling stuff
• Rent-a-rower
• Sponsorship
• Create and sell team gear
• Car wash
• Raffles or silent auctions
• Bake sales

In its Collegiate Coaches Corner series, row2k reports on the importance of fundraising to support programs and the amount of time it can consume, as well as offering useful tips and tactics used by collegiate coaches for fundraising.

Equipment: Money can solve many equipment issues. The NK Sports Rowing Grant Program can assist with rowing electronics. Explore other grant programs, including those not specific to rowing, for example community development funds or foundations which support sport in general. Donors may be attracted to naming a new boat or donating oars or perhaps purchasing a CoxBox or EmpowerOarlocks. Grants which offset programming costs could mean that club or program money is instead leveraged to purchase or maintain equipment.

Rowing Hacks is a regular feature on Row2k, sharing ideas on how to stretch your club or program budget with quick and inexpensive fixes. For example, fins are often broken when there is debris in the water and are expensive to replace – how about using homemade wooden fins that break away easily for training? Some just make boathouse life easier. Like building rolling outboard cards to store and move heavy motors. There are ideas elsewhere, such as recycling broken oars to make stretchers or trestles.

Administration and Management: Research has shown that clubs with paid staff are more professional and successful over time. Regardless of whether your club or program has employees or relies on volunteers, simplifying and streamlining backend tasks is key to reducing workloads and complications. Regatta Central not only manages events but often club memberships. Software can facilitate club management. iCrew, created by rowers, offers features unique to rowing clubs and programs, addressing not just crew scheduling and athlete performance tracking, but also equipment inventory management and boat damage reporting and tracking, plus integration with Regatta Central.

Once you start looking, inspiration and solutions for the challenges facing rowing clubs and programs can be found. Ideas spread when rowers gather and talk at conferences and regattas. Podcasts are another way to learn from the experiences of other coaches, clubs and rowers. If you join a live session, you can post questions. Steady State Network's library of recordings are organized by topics like clubs and coaching and are an excellent resource. And don't forget to apply for the NK Sports Rowing Grant Program!