Fundraising using adult learn to row

By Rebecca Caroe, Legion of Rowers

Adults are very interested in trying rowing - the sport is so high profile in New Zealand that few

people haven’t heard of the Kiwi Pair or the Tokyo Eight or Emma Twigg.

Adult learn to row courses serve two separate and useful purposes - firstly fund raising and

secondly a source of new members for your masters training group.

How to run an adult learn to row course

There are three main parts to the course - finding the right dates to run it, finding volunteers to

help coach, and finding the right equipment.

1. Dates first - spring and autumn are good times because the weather in NZ is often quite stable and there are fewer demands (School holidays, overseas trips) that people take at these times.

   
   

   A simple learn to row course can be six lessons total with a follow up course of another six lessons. This allows people to give it a go and then continue if they like rowing or drop out honourably if they don’t!

   
   

   Find three consecutive weekends and run your course on both Saturday and Sundays. The follow up course ideally should be on the next three consecutive weekends without a gap. When you have a gap, more people drop out.

2. Volunteers - you don’t have to be an experienced coach or an experienced rower to volunteer. If you did the learn to row course six months ago, you know enough to help with newbies. The club needs roughly six volunteers for 12 students learning to row. Most of what you will be doing is helping people get their foot stretchers set up correctly and then sitting the boat level while they try rowing.

   
   

   The best learn to row coaching structure and method is detailed in the book Masters Rowing - Training for fitness, technique and competition by Volker Nolte and Wolfgang Fritsch. Wolfgang wrote the chapter and it is really clear setting out what to teach first, what to follow up with.

   
   

   The main thing which adults need and which is mis-understood compared to coaching young people is to get on the water from the very first lesson. Ideally don’t use ergs to teach on that first weekend - the details of half slide and feathering can be learned later. Get your students in a boat rowing square blades and full slide (however they can) is what gets them hooked. Later on you can teach them body sequencing and what the coxing commands are.

3. The equipment is also important - if your club has access to coastal boats or surf-boards-with- riggers those are great for the first learn to row course.

   
   

   Pontoon floats can be attached to boats too for stability, They’re stable and get people started really easily - and they can also be used for club rowers wanting to practice catch drills - Eric Verdonk used them extensively before winning his Olympic medal. Alternatively, regular club or high school boats can be used with experienced people sitting the boat level. Think 50% novices and 50% experienced in each boat to begin with. The most challenging athletes are those weighing over 100kg - they are hard to accommodate in school boats as they’re typically 70-80kg average athlete weight.

What to charge for your course is also an important question. Compared with other sports, rowing tends to under-charge for the expertise and the experience of learning rowing. It’s very time intensive on volunteers so clubs should make it worthwhile. Charging between $300 - 400 for six lessons is a fair price with each course having between 10-16 athletes. This could net you $3000 - $6,400 for the course.

Advertising your learn to row course is best done on your website - have a page titled “Adult Learn to Row” and put the dates of the next course up there for the whole year. An expression of interest form can collect names of people ahead of time (not everyone can do the dates and so you can offer them future courses if you have their contact details). Another good avenue are the parents at your local high school - they are bringing their kids to the club anyway and so going rowing themselves at the same time gives them something to do! And don’t forget the local newspaper and radio station - they love hearing about local activities and could get on board by sending a journalist on the course to report back.

After the course ends, it’s important to have a pathway to membership of your club. Plan

which group the graduates can join so they can continue learning and having fun on the water.

Good luck raising good coin with adult learn to row.

The Legion of Rowers supports masters rowing in New Zealand - check out our resources page for ways to run a business house regatta, a training camp and a head race.