A Seat in the Boat For Everyone
Rowing is the ultimate team sport because rowers rely on and push each other in ways few other sports do. Once you shove off the dock, you are committed to your crew for that practice or race.
Rowing can help athletes aim for and achieve goals, whether it is rowing in college, competing at the international level, or rowing for fun, health, and a support network. Rowers are all over the U.S. (and beyond) and can become our extended family. The lessons learned on the water in shells can be taken beyond an athlete's time on the water and teammates become longtime friends.
United We Row aims to foster greater access and opportunities in our sport throughout the country. Through close collaboration with leaders and clubs, we are determined to reshape the landscape of American rowing, making the sport more inclusive and diverse than ever before. We provide rowing organizations, coaches, and athletes with the education, financial and technical support, competition, and advocacy required to pursue rowing from those early novice years to the lifelong veteran.
United We Row is not a campaign; it's a commitment to take the joy and benefits of rowing to everyone.
What is United We Row?
USRowing's United We Row initiative focuses on supporting rowing programs, coaches, athletes, and anyone interested in advancing the sport of rowing to diversify and grow their programs. It represents the power of rowing to bridge divides, unite athletes across differences, and push the community forward.
United We Row is the commitment by the USRowing team to make rowing a place where the rowing community feels a sense of belonging and people are valued as unique individuals – across all teams including membership, competition, learning & development, high performance, and safeguarding.
United We Row includes training and education; grants and scholarships; storytelling and visibility; and community and mentorship. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan, which was developed by USRowing staff and the DEI Committee and was published in 2023, provides a path forward for this work through 2028.
We believe there is a seat in the boat for everyone to reap the vast rewards our sport has to offer – no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, native language, religion, ability status or veteran status. To make that happen, it takes awareness, intention, and commitment for those who want to invite people into rowing and keep them here.
United We Row Impact
With over 75,000 individual and 1,300 organizations, we strive to influence all USRowing members to make their rowing programs a place for all. We will track membership demographics, retention, and experience and plan to report progress to members on an annual basis starting in 2025.
From 2024 through 2028, these are the following goals for the United We Row programs:
- $1 million in grants and scholarships over four years through the United We Row Impact Program
- Over the next two years, 60 United We Row mentorship program participants gain practical skills and community
- USRowing membership better reflects the racial and ethnic demographics of the United States over four years
How Do I Get Started with United We Row?
The movement to make rowing a welcoming, growing, and sustainable sport relies on everyone in the rowing community to take action. Whether that is by telling their story, educating themselves on "DEI," providing valuable feedback to USRowing, or treating their teammate more kindly – we need you. United We Row has resources for you, so explore below and get started:
- Check out The Launch. The Launch is USRowing's online learning platform for sharing online course modules, resources, best practices, and more. Once you're in, click on "Nine Things to Know about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at USRowing", “Opening the Boathouse Doors”, or “Sexual Misconduct and Abuse Prevention, Support, and Resources” to get started.
- Take advantage of free Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources from our website.
- Join the Mentorship Program: The United We Row Coaches Mentorship Program is for coaches who are recipients of the United We Row Coaches Scholarship, formerly known as the all-coach scholarship, to enhance their rowing skill development, professional growth, and relationship facilitation. Apply to become a mentor or mentee.
- Commit to making your boathouse more welcoming via the United We Row Pledge.
- Sign up for our quarterly Community Engagement Newsletters.
- Share your story: Submit stories of individuals from diverse backgrounds or leaders/organizations who aim to make rowing more inclusive and welcoming or who deserve to be highlighted for their contributions to rowing, your boathouse, or your team.
- Donate to support education, resources, stories, grants, scholarships, and more.
- Offer feedback by emailing Community@USRowing.org.
United We Row Grants Program
USRowing is excited to announce the launch of the United We Row Grant Program. The goal of the program is to make rowing more accessible, inclusive, and competitive by empowering leaders and supporting organizations across the nation.
USRowing’s commitment to this program is not only about financial investment, but about building lasting relationships and communities that share a common goal – to open doors and create a seat in the boat for everyone. Organizational leaders are experts in their communities at making rowing welcoming and inclusive, and USRowing will have the biggest impact by supporting their efforts, bringing like-minded people together, and sharing learnings to scale this work.
Through the grant program, select partners will receive vital resources, including cash grants and support for building a strong, inclusive community around their programs. Grantees will share knowledge, build connections, and lift each other up.
To learn more about the grant program and details, click HERE.
FAQs can be found here.
