Making Your Rowing Club Boathouse A Home

Your rowing club\’s boathouse should be a place where people love to spend their time and enjoy the sport of rowing while supporting your club and its activities. We looked at what turns a rowing club boathouse into a home for rowing lovers and their supporters alike, and came up with these 4 core ideas…

1. Keep your boathouse looking clean & sharp

This one is simple – you want to take care of your rowing home so put in some extra elbow grease and leave your boathouse clean and tidy. In doing so, more of your club members and supporters will be happier to spend time there and the club will have more of an opportunity to flourish. Also your gear will be sure to last longer!

2. Fill your boathouse with info about your club and its members

Your boathouse should reflect your club and the area where it is located. Aside from the basic safety procedures, maps, waterway navigation guides etc you should house your club\’s achievements, member lists, biggest supporters, and club memories. Get a few framed photos to decorate the room and a trophy chest to fill up! This also works as a great encourager to drive harder and win races – so you can bask in the glow of your boathouse\’s wall of glory.

3. Have a public area built into your boathouse

Give the public and your non-membership supporters a way to interact with the boathouse, and maybe raise a bit of funding on the side. How? It\’s up to you and your club culture. We suggest building a local restaurant into your boathouse so everyone can come and visit. It\’s a big project but in the long run it\’s another source of income. It could even keep money straggled rowers in the club by providing job opportunities. The benefits are many.

Ultimately though, filling up your boathouse with rowers and supporters alike will guide your club to greater success. More minds invested in it should also help it develop into the best boathouse it can be.

4. Always have something fun going on at your boathouse

Constantly have a raft of activities happening at the boathouse to involve all members of the community and your club. From fundraisers and \’learn to row\’ events to shareholder meetings and crew bonding nights, an active boathouse means a happy community. You\’ll end up with a larger group of people fighting for you club\’s success and the continuation of your boathouse.