Founded in 1983 at the Port of West Sacramento, River City Rowing Club is a community rowing club serving residents of West Sacramento, Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Elk Grove, and beyond. Through Learn to Row classes and team membership, RCRC opens the benefits of rowing -- camaraderie, low-impact yet high intensity physical training, and access to the outdoors locally -- to community members of all ages and athletic backgrounds.
Each year 70+ high school athletes, 150+ adult members, and 20+ middle school rowers join the team programs at RCRC, training 9-12 months of the year. RCRC coaches provide comprehensive training tailored to the age and rowing experience of their team, while developing teamwork, effort, persistence and accountability. The majority of these members took their first rowing strokes in RCRC beginning rowing classes, which reach 200+ community members annually. Classes welcome individuals seeking the short-term motivation of a new physical activity and those for whom rowing at RCRC becomes a pillar for a healthy lifestyle; across the age groups, over 45% of class participants join an RCRC rowing team. As a low impact endurance sport, rowing is an activity that youth and adult rowers can engage in and return to throughout their life. RCRC's joint commitments to teaching new rowers and supporting the nuanced fitness, recreational, and/or competitive goals of each member, gives new and experienced rowers access to this lifelong sport. Our youngest rowers are 10 and our oldest are in their 80's yet youth and adult members consistently share that rowing at RCRC provides a community of motivated individuals and diverse health benefits.
RCRC's visits to middle and high schools in West Sacramento and the greater Sacramento region is a core part of our outreach, yet sadly on hiatus. In a standard school year, the Club works with P.E. teachers at 8 or more local schools to coordinate Learn to Row days in their P.E. classes. Our coaches provide rowing machines and instruction over one to two days; by the end, nearly every 6th-11th grade student at those schools has received an invitation to try rowing in boats and an introduction to correctly using a rowing machine, laying the foundation for them to use indoor rowing as a fun, challenging physical activity. We look forward to returning to classrooms and bringing rowing to 3,000+ students annually.
RCRC relies on the support of our members and the greater community to fulfill our mission and offer rowing to a wide range of West Sacramento area youth and adults. Through financial support of RCRC donors and sponsors can expand the Club's reach by empowering the Club to expand our site, maintain and grow our rowing fleet, and provide an outstanding rowing experience.