Adult Rowing Program
Whether you’re a returning rower or completely new to the sport, rowing is for you at any stage of your life. The art of rowing is ageless!
Rowing is not only a great physical activity that works all major muscles, it’s also a team sport whose values lead to a great social environment. Rowers come in all sizes and ages. The masters rowing community is a large and thriving group of professionals who enjoy the mental and physical benefits of a team-oriented sport.
Jacksonville Rowing Club provides a great environment for returning rowers and newcomers alike. Rowers from their 20s to 40s to 70s and beyond find rowing to be a challenging hobby that pushes their physical limits and provides for a scenic outdoor venue to enjoy our beautiful rivers.
Who You’ll Meet at JRC
As a club, our membership is extremely diverse and boasts a range of characters from all sorts of (often truly surprising) backgrounds. Rowing tends to attract some unique people! But we’re brought together by a common interest.
As far as we’re concerned, if you’re interested in rowing, you belong here! That’s it.
Membership is pretty evenly split between males and females (rowing events are categorized as Men’s, Women’s, or Mixed boats, so that’s how we discuss groupings), and we’re also evenly distributed in terms of ages. You’ll find members in their early 20s, middle age, and right into their 70s. Our most senior member is in his 90s! We should also mention that our members in the 50+ age bracket, in particular, absolutely relish going to races, since they can beat the socks off other crews due to the handicap allowance times they’re given — and they make NO apologies for it. This is a sport where you’re never “too old” to compete.
Membership in the Jacksonville Rowing Club is open to all adults, and we aim to be a safe, inclusive space. As a club, we take compliance with SafeSport seriously, and require annual compliance status renewals from all members, in addition to our own JRC rules, policies, regulations, terms, and member Code of Conduct.
No rowing experience? No problem!
People often wrongly assume that they need to already know how to row. NOT true! We love this sport and are happy to teach you.
We care about where you are in your learning journey, and our coaches make sure your individual skills and experience level are kept in mind when choosing which boats and seats you should be in for practices.
Roughly half our members are graduates of our very own Learn-to-Row program! The rest of us have varied backgrounds of prior rowing experience, whether we started years ago, as in middle school, high school, or university, or we took Learn-to-Row at another masters rowing club before moving to Jacksonville.
Rowing After a Hiatus
If you’re an experienced rower who’s been away for a long time, it’s often really useful to join our next Learn-to-Row class as a refresher. We always have a few members/trained rowers along as “ringers” to help stabilize the boat for people who are learning for the first time, so it wouldn’t be unusual. It’s also a gentle way to reintroduce your body to the physical demands of rowing following an injury.
Membership Types and Costs
JRC offers several membership types, which are further explained on the JRC Application Form.
- Annual Regular Membership — $80/mo
- Monthly Regular Membership — $120/mo
- Associate Membership — $40/mo
- Coxswains — Membership dues are waived or reduced for coxswains; for more information about how this works, please reach out to [email protected] or the JRC Treasurer.
Note: Because we host the First Coast Head Race regatta each October, as of 2024, membership also carries a volunteer hours requirement to help complete necessary tasks leading up to the regatta.
Annual Regular Membership Dues Entitle You To:
- Use of club equipment for which you have been approved to row
- Access to coaching
- Access to the Members portion of the Club’s web site
- Access to the Members portion of the Club’s iCrew app & web portal
- Club functions and social gatherings
- Use of club-owned indoor rowing equipment (on-site and subject to certain restrictions)
- Rowing with others in boats for multiple rowers.
Learn-to-Row Fees
Our Learn-to-Row course is a separate program, and does not fall under JRC Membership parameters. The flat rate charged for the course only covers the full block of classes (see Learn-to-Row Program Details). Graduates of Learn-to-Row can opt to join JRC following the course.