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.
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.
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 we can and should do more to educate ourselves and our team.
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.
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.
Contacts
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Lynn Walton / Team Manager
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Nick Haley / Leader
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Leslie Walker / Outreach Coordinator
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Lindsay McQuaid / Board President
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Graham Taylor / Board Vice President
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Hayley Nunn / Board Secretary
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Kalle Crafton / Director
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Madeline Dinse / Director
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Chris Farrington / Director
RCRC is a founding member of the Portland Boathouse, a collection of river-related non-profit organizations. Together, we will put nearly 1,000 people on the river on a summer day. Our members span from twelve years old to over eighty! Our goal is provide access to all kinds of human-powered watercraft in Portland.
The Portland Boathouse consists of the
Rose City Rowing Club, the Station L Rowing Club (adult rowing program),
the Wasabi Paddling Club (dragon boating for all ages) and the
Willamette Riverkeeper (stewards and guides on our Willamette River).
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!
