Teaching Rowing in the Eugene/Springfield area since 1986

Vision

Make rowing accessible to junior athletes of all abilities in the Eugene/Springfield area.

Mission Statement

Eugene Rowing Club is dedicated to teaching the sport of rowing to athletes of all abilities in an inclusive, enriching, and safe community. We prepare athletes for life and help them become their best selves through lessons learned on and off the water.

We develop personal character, an ethic of cooperation, and physical fitness within the ultimate team culture of crew. Crew’s success demands personal responsibility, goal setting and accountability to the greater whole – skills also essential to our community at large. ERC rowers learn the necessity of teammates pulling together to transcend their individual strengths and weaknesses. In rowing, more than any other sport, no one individual stands out. To succeed, everyone in the boat must work together. Through daily workouts and competition in regattas, the athletes build strong friendships, respect and bonds with each other.

Core Values

Respect: We respect our teammates, competitors, coaches, families, and our community.

Trust: We trust that our teammates, coaches, and families have our best interests in mind.

Dedication: We are dedicated to supporting each other in all that we do.

The Team

ERC is open to high school students throughout the greater Eugene/Springfield area without regard to past athletic experience or school affiliation. No prior rowing experience is required to join the team. Rowers must be able to pass a swim test in order to join. All teens within the greater Eugene/Springfield area, entering 8th – 12th grades, are eligible to join the rowing team. Regardless of age, those joining the rowing team for the first time spend their first year rowing on the Development Team. While on the Development Team, athletes learn how to pick-up and carry a boat (shell), how to put a shell in the water, how to get into the boat, steer it straight, and row on the water. Development Team rowers will have the opportunity to race and move up to the Competitive Team.

Rowing is a sport for all shapes and sizes and athletic levels. Whether you are tall or small, there is a seat for you on the rowing team. There are boats for all weights and heights and even coxswain positions for those smaller youth who are interested in steering the boat.

Affiliation with the rowing club has been integral in the lives of many Lane County high schoolers. Some athletes continue to row in college, and some are accepted to universities and colleges they would not have otherwise been accepted to, had they not participated in the sport of rowing. Former ERC members have attended Stanford, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Virginia, Michigan, University of Washington, University of San Diego and Oregon State University. It is exciting to watch opportunities open up for our rowers as they are recruited by universities and colleges from around the country.

Eugene Rowing Club is a self-funded non-profit organization providing Eugene/Springfield 8-12th grade students with the opportunity to learn and grow as part of a crew team. All donations are used solely for operating expenses or, if designated as such, as a part of our financial aid fund. Eugene Rowing Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For additional information or to donate stock certificates, please visit our Donate to ERC page.