Pre-requisites: None… but it’s not as easy as it looks!
Welcome to one of the world’s healthiest addictions – Rowing! Whether you’re interested in recreational or competitive, sculling or sweep, solo or crew rowing you’ll find that the Worcester Rowing Club has what you’re looking for.

This booklet is intended to ease novice rowers into the swing of things by providing a very brief introduction to the sport of rowing, an exposure to the terminology associated with rowing, and a quick orientation to the basic parts of rowing equipment and technique. True learning comes from doing so have a look, give it a try, and ask as many questions as come to mind.

Rowing at a Glance
Watching from the docks or the spectator’s gallery rowing looks simple enough, even
graceful. Put the oar in, pull really hard, take the oar out, and prepare to do it again, repeat over and over. Simple right? Right. And yet training a high performance crew has been described as being like trying to teach eight athletes to run a four-minute mile all in step.

Next time you’re watching a crew race down river, along with the splendor of your
surroundings, notice how the crew is working in unison and note how the boat is moving. If it’s a good crew no rower will stand out from the others – they all look the same because they’re all doing the same thing. A good crew will also move the boat in a smooth and constant fashion. Beginner crews stand out by the jerky motion of their boat as the boat surges and stops with every stroke. As a rower and crew becomes more experienced they learn to eliminate unnecessary movements in the boat and this results in a more graceful momentum and greater speed through the water.

Coaches will say that there are a lot of good rowers, but many of them row differently, that their techniques vary. They all agree, however, that good crews must have excellent timing. If the crew’s timing is off the boat won’t move smoothly or quickly.

Look to see if all rowers hit the catch together. That is, do their oars all enter the water together? Also, watch the bodies of the crew – see if they all move in unison, or if there is a break. Unison allows the boat to move smoothly while a lack of uniformity means additional check (interruptions in the momentum of the boat) and slows down the run.

All good crews have power and drive, for it takes a certain amount of horsepower to move a boat, and coaches will typically look for tall, strong athletes in good physical condition. Size isn’t everything, however, for without proper timing and form a strong athlete will only work against the boat’s momentum. So, with a greater attention to improving technique, smaller rowers can easily compensate for their lack of size and learn to frustrate their larger competition.

Student
$75.00 Per Year

Non-Resident
$75.00 Per Year

Individual
$150.00 Per Year

Non-Equipment
$75.00 Per Year

Family
$225.00 Per Year

Social/Support
$50.00 Per Year

Coxswain
$75.00 Per Year

*All new members who did not participate in a novice class are required to schedule an official orientation with one of the club officers before rowing out of the WRC facility.
Membership Fees: Family membership rate applies for two adults and one child in the same household. Additional members of the same family can become members at ½ the individual rate. Student rate applies for full time high school and college students. Non-Resident rate applies for adults living outside the Eastern Shore area who are infrequent users of club facilities. Non-Equipment rate applies to members who use ONLY private equipment – no WRC equipment use is included in this fee. Coxswain’s rate applies to a member whose primary responsibility will be the Coxswain’s position in a boat. Coxswains have full individual membership as well. Social/Support members do not have rowing privileges but are otherwise considered full members of the club and receive club communications and invitations to all club events.

Boat Storage Fees: If you store a boat on the WRC rack, please include $100.00 annual storage fee per single with your check. Please note that Worcester Rowing Club cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to personal property stored on our racks. Fees for larger boats are negotiated on an individual basis.

Click here to view Printable 2010 WRC 1 Membership Form Document

Only current members
rowers who have signed current membership and waiver forms and have paid their fees in full - can use WRC shells and facilities.

Logbook
For safety reasons, WRC needs to be able to identify members on the creek at any time, and we monitor a log book for this purpose. All rowers must log out and log in (private shell owners as well).

Traffic Pattern
Unless prohibited by weather, rowers should row south (toward Route 50) on the west (Riddle Farm) side of Herring Creek and north (towards the boathouse) on the east (boathouse) side of the creek.

Twilight
Rowers must use adequate lighting if on the creek before sunrise or after sunset. Description of types and location for acceptable lighting is posted in the boathouse.

Certification. WRC makes a variety of single shells and multiple seat shells available to members, including Beginner, Intermediate, and Racing Singles; Racing Double, Quad, and Sweep Four. Rowers may row only the classes of shells for which they have current rowing certification from a coach, board member, or other persons designated by the board. Other shells may be rowed only under instruction by one of the above.

Membership cards and/or parking stickers may be issued to current members, and yard rules may require their display.

Buddy system for safety
All rowers are encouraged to row in pairs or groups.

Youth rowers (under age 18) must row under the supervision of a coach.

Experienced visiting rowers
may row gratis for one week if they have received permission from the WRC coach and have signed membership and waiver forms. Liability for damage is same as members.

If damage
(besides normal wear and tear) occurs to any WRC shell each rower using the shell at the time the damage occurs shall be responsible to WRC for the lesser of $100 or the actual cost of repair. This responsibility applies during any use (including but not limited to) use on the water, transport to and from the water, or transport to and from an event; but shall not apply to participants in the youth program or beginner sculling lessons.

Transporting
a WRC shell to a regatta or other rowing location requires prior permission from the WRC racing coordinator. WRC coaching launches can be operated only by members designated by the board and only for official WRC activities. Place launches only in locations designated by WRC.

Yard policies
are posted, and changes distributed via newsletter. Current policies include:

Good-neighbor behavior - avoiding noise, clutter, parking problems. Safe driving.

Safe use on the water
Logging departure, return, and any problems fixed or unfixed.

Care of shells and oars
hulls, seats, seat tracks, hatches, footstretchers, riggers, oarlocks, oars, storage
before removing from storage, at beach, on water, washdown, return to storage
Rowing privileges may be suspended or revoked by vote of the board of trustees for any rower not following WRC policies.