Mission

The mission of the Rose City Rowing Club is to encourage and empower young adults to become capable and confident people within the framework of a nationally competitive, team-oriented rowing program.

Boat full of rowers in a fun "muscles" pose

The Rose City Rowing Club was created to introduce Portland’s youth to our wonderful sport and the beautiful river that runs through our city. Founded in 2004, the club draws participants from 40 different schools and over 30 different zip codes. Our doors are open to all. We have a broad range of athletes, from middle-schoolers who come out for a paddle a couple of times a week, to world-class veteran competitors. Our community is our priority and the vision for our program is that it should be a primer for a lifetime of enjoyment in the sport. 

Athletes at Rose City are encouraged to explore all aspects of our sport. Not only will they learn about rowing technique and training, but also about how to develop the mental approach to high performance. We make time to learn about nutrition and injury prevention, as well as how to set short and long term development goals. Above all else, our athletes are encouraged to take responsibility for their own rowing career and to build the skills to get what they want out of it.

With an athlete-to-coach ratio of about 10-to-1, our athletes will receive daily, regular feedback about how they are doing. There are no “benchwarmers” on our team. Whether at practice or at the races, all of our athletes have daily opportunities to participate and develop.

Our club’s Board of Directors, staff and coaches have a tremendous amount of experience in mentoring young rowers. The organization was conceived and built with the sole purpose of being just for kids. Indeed, many of our leaders rowed for the organization when they were in high school! Although we believe in the positive elements of competitive sports, ours is not a win-at-all-costs attitude. We take our coaching cues from the individual athletes and help them shape their own version of a rowing career. 

At the Rose City Rowing Club, we support equality and those who are working to address and reduce injustice and inequality in our society.

We acknowledge our responsibility as an institution to continually examine how our culture and community addresses inequality and racism. We understand that educating ourselves and our team is a continuous process.

We acknowledge the history and perceptions of our sport and we are committed to fostering a modern rowing culture that embraces all people. We will continue to work towards the removal of identified barriers so that everyone will be able to participate in our wonderful sport and be a part of our team.

Contacts

General inquiries
Rose City Rowing Club logo - "the cheetah"

Why the cheetah?

The cheetah is fast and efficient. Like a rower, it propels itself with huge leg thrusts and core contractions. In between strides it glides through the air - using its tail like a rudder! Check out this video of a cheetah running and you will quickly see the similarities with a rower racing!

Video