Membership - General Information

Collegiate and experienced rowers who were looking for a place to row in Cincinnati founded the Cincinnati Rowing Club (CRC) in 1982 as the East Fork Water Sports Association. Initially, the club was located at East Fork State Park where we had the pleasure of hosting over 16 collegiate national championships. As the club grew, it became necessary to find a larger and more prominent site. Working with the City of Newport, Kentucky, the Licking River boathouse was built in General James Taylor Park in 1995.

The Cincinnati Rowing Club is an organization formed and maintained to promote the sport of rowing, to teach and train oarsman and oarswomen without preference to race, creed, religion, or color, to provide an equitable means for both recreational and competitive rowing, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, and to provide a means for community and charitable involvement in the Cincinnati area.

CRC is an organizational member of USRowing, a nonprofit organization established over 100 years ago to serve an existing network of clubs now over 30,000 members strong nationwide. CRC members are encouraged to join as individuals as this allows you to participate in registered regattas and receive the USRowing magazine.

In June 2002, CRC became one of the 14 charter members of USRowing's Club Partner Program.

Membership – How to Join CRC

If you’re interested in becoming a member of CRC, contact the Club Membership Director (membership@cincinnatirowing.com) for more information. We are a sculling club with all sculling boats, but welcome experienced sweep rowers to join and learn to scull.
(Note: September 1st of each year is the last day to join for that current calendar year if you are new to rowing and/or sculling. It starts to get cold and the daylight hours get shorter and we want you to have time to row after you learn).

New to Rowing

For those of you who have no experience, or just a little, we require that you have formal training to learn proper rowing technique, safety considerations, and boat handling. We recommend that you attend one of the Cincinnati Rowing Club's Learn-to-Row programs. Other possible options to acquire the necessary training include private coaching or attendance at a rowing camp. If you want to verify that your program will meet our standards, feel free to contact the Membership Director or the President to discuss it with them. We also will require an assessment by one of the Club Captains when you are ready to begin attending Open or Coached Rows.

(Note: You must become a CRC Member before using a club boat for private lessons.)

Experienced Rowers

The first step is to join CRC. You will need to complete the Membership Application Form and mail with your membership payment to the CRC address on the form. At that time you will also need to sign a USRowing waiver online. Insert GHLTL as the club code under the Athletes panel. (Click on the right side links of this Membership page to access these forms and information on Membership Fees.)

If you have prior sculling experience, once your membership forms and payment are received by CRC we will arrange for an orientation to Cincinnati Rowing Club, the boathouse, and our rowing venue (the Licking River). We will also schedule an on-the-water assessment of your rowing ability. You must complete, sign and bring a copy of the Safety Assessment to the orientation session. This is a requirement before going out on the water. Once everything is completed and we have verified your sculling skills, you can start attending our Open and Coached Rows offered each week.

If you are a sweep rower and new to sculling, after your membership forms and payment are received by CRC, we will arrange for an orientation to Cincinnati Rowing Club, the boathouse, and our rowing venue (the Licking River). You must complete, sign and bring a copy of the Safety Assessment to the orientation session. This is a requirement before going out on the water for lessons. Then you may attend one of CRC's complimentary group sweep-to-scull transition lessons (tentatively scheduled to be offered in 2013 on Saturday June 8th and Saturday July 13th). Alternatively you may take private lessons (available on a fee basis) to learn to scull. At the completion of your lesson, an on-the-water assessment will be conducted to verify your sculling skills and clear you to attend our Open and Coached Rows offered each week.