Welcome

DC National Rowing Club is a nationally competitive rowing club for high school students throughout the DC metro area. We have full racing seasons in the fall and spring with winter conditioning in our renovated exercise facility. We conduct our water training on the upper Potomac and row out of Calleva. Our coaches have coached teams at the high school and collegiate levels with teams that have successfully competed nationally and internationally. We have found the most successful athletes in this sport and on our team have these traits in common:  

Commitment – Consistent attendance across our team is critical to our success. Training consistency is important for building skill, momentum, and relationships within the boat. As Phil Jackson says "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team". In order to build this dynamic and as in any other high level high school sport we expect rowers and their parents to plan rowers’ other activities around their rowing schedule.

Positive attitude – Rowing is a team sport which requires everyone to work together and to push hard to make the boat go faster. Positive thinking and cooperation will help your success in this sport. 

Willingness to work hard – Rowing is a total body workout that strengthens your physical and mental stamina while emphasizing the importance of teamwork. Often times lifelong friendships are developed through these experiences. 

While these traits are key for DC NRC athletes, other important points to consider before joining our team include: 

Age – Athletes need to be in 9th-12th grade. We are recruiting athletes from local public and private schools in the Maryland and D.C. area. We have or have had athletes from schools such as: Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, MD), Thomas S. Wootton High School (Rockville, MD), Bullis School (Potomac, MD), Washington International School (Washington, DC), Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD), Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bethesda, MD), and the Lab School of Washington (Washington, DC). We welcome and encourage all high schools in the area near our training site to participate. 

Experience – Most athletes who join our team have never rowed before. The first season is spent learning technique and building fitness. We offer a training program and racing opportunities for those new to the sport to learn together. For building cumulative fitness there is an advantage to start rowing early, however, we have had successful athletes begin rowing in their Junior and Senior years and go on to row at collegiate levels.  We also welcome experienced rowers and coxswains. 

Physicality – The typical rower is tall and athletic in stature, however, there are no absolutes and athletes who do not fit this typical description can also find success in this sport. We race both open and light weight boats for men and women. In addition, we also recruit coxswains, who are members of the crew and steer the boat and guide the rowers during races. Coxswains are typically smaller in stature and are generally lighter since they are not providing power for the boat.