Adult Rowing Programs at Wayland Weston Rowing Association (WWRA)

In addition to the several rowing programs offered to middle school, high school, and collegiate students, WWRA offers adults four opportunities to row: Learn To Row (LTR), Corporate Weeks, Masters Rowing, Learn To Be A Coxswain, and Winter Indoor Rowing Machine (Erging) Sessions.

Learn To Row (LTR)

WWRA has monthly Learn To Row sessions during the summer months. These are held over a weekend and typically we have 3 LTR sessions: one each in June, July, and August. Each consists of 8 hours of instruction and is an intensive weekend held on Friday evening, and Saturday and Sunday mornings. The LTR sessions are intended for people who have no rowing experience, and the students learn enough to be comfortable rowing several types of boats.

Corporate Weeks of sessions over 3 or 4 weeks

The 3- or 4-week sessions (two evening rows per week, weekdays 6:00 to 7:30 pm) have been useful for corporate groups to develop their rowing skills. They row in boats of various sizes, frequently 8+’s, and receive on the water coaching.

Masters Rowing

The Masters sessions are intended for people with some rowing experience either in sculling, sweep rowing, or both. They are masters in age only, not necessarily expertise! The Masters group can row the entire season (mid-May to mid-September) as their schedules allow. We have 4 to 5 sessions per week throughout the rowing season, and people sign up for any sessions that suit their schedule. Typically there are Masters sessions one or two early weekday mornings (5:30 to 7:00 am), one or two weekend morning (6:30 to 8:00 am), and two weekday evening sessions (6:00 to 7:30 pm).

Learn To Be A Coxswain

Coxswains are the navigators and the coaches in the boat so are valued members of team boats. We offer the opportunity of targeted sessions for people who want to learn to be an effective coxswain.

Our adult rowers are both women and men and span in age from their 20s to 70s. Some of our rowers have past rowing experience and after many years away are getting back into it. There is coaching on proper technique, a few challenging workouts, and handful of rowers each season have been interested in competition. Participation in any of these aspects is entirely up to each rower. Overall most rowers are interested in getting out onto the water and having some exercise in a beautiful setting.

Our Adult on the water rowing programs use any of the club boats in the boathouse which consist of a full range of both sculling and sweep boats (1X to 8X, 2- to 8+), most of which are from top manufacturers. The coach will help assign each rower to a boat suitable for the rower’s desires and abilities. All of our adult rowing sessions are coached, from a safety launch on the pond with the rowers. The coach makes decisions about weather safety at each session - very few rows are impacted due to safety concerns.

Location

We row on the North Pond portion of Lake Cochituate and our boathouse and docks are adjacent to the Wayland Town Beach, 25 Parkland Drive, Wayland, MA 01778. There is a large free parking lot. The North Pond is about a mile from end to end, and a perimeter row is about 3000 meters. Any other boat traffic is typically minimal and slow. Most of the shoreline is wooded, there is a lot of wildlife, and interestingly an occasional hazard is early morning long distance swimmers! Overall, it’s a beautiful place to row.

The Adult Rowing Program on the water schedule is published on the WWRA website (www.wwcrew.org) in early spring.

Requirements

There are a few requirements to row on the water with WWRA:

1) Join US Rowing as an individual member and sign the US Rowing Waiver which is good for the calendar year. The WWRA club code is EUZXC. Go to https://membership.usrowing.org/.   

2) Register for your choice of sessions on the WWRA website (www.wwcrew.org). The payment is through Family ID which you’ll be directed to automatically.

3) For Masters only, indicate on the Google Sheet which day will be your next row. There is a link to the Google Sheet on the registration page. We ask that people indicate on the sheet your plans at least a day before your next row.

4) Complete the Swim Test using the WWRA Swim Test Form. All new rowers at WWRA must complete a WWRA Swim Test, which is then good lifetime. Any lifeguard can supervise and sign the test. For someone who can swim and is comfortable in the water the test is not difficult. Options to complete the test include the Wayland Town Beach (next to the boathouse, summertime only), other town pools, or at a health club pool such as the YMCA (which may charge a guest fee). The swim test form is available on the WWRA website, in the high school section and elsewhere. Bring a paper copy to the lifeguard, and after it’s signed bring it to your first row. In lieu of a WWRA Swim Test, a copy of a completed swim test from another program is acceptable. People who have not passed the Swim Test can row wearing a life jacket.

Winter Indoor Rowing Machine (Erging) Sessions

During the winter months the WWRA Program Director, Mike Baker, runs a once-a-week erg session for adults. It goes from mid-December to mid-March and is held on Thursday evenings at 6 pm. The group varies between 20 to 25 people, with a mix of on-the-water rowers and fairly fit gym go-ers. The erg sessions are held at Longfellow Health Club, 203 Oak Street, Natick, MA 01760. The sessions are open to anyone; for members of Longfellow the sessions are free, and non-members pay a nominal guest fee per session at the front desk. Sessions are drop-in; there is no need to sign up ahead of time or commit to any particular number of sessions. We use Concept 2 rowing ergometers. Mike gives great workouts as well as insightful advice on technique. It’s an effective way to keep rowing part of your winter activities.

Adult Rowing with WWRA

2023 Season

Learn To Row

         June 2, 3, 4 (cancelled due to inclement weather) ? rain dates

         July 7, 8, 9

         August 4, 5, 6

Cost for any LTR weekend is $231

Corporate A Coxswain

Tuesday and Thursday 6 to 7:30 pm

Cost is $0

Corporate Weeks (six rows total)

         Block 1        June 6 to 22 (rain dates June 27, 29)

         Block 2        July 11 to 27 (rain dates August 1, 3)

         Block 3        August 8 to 25 (rain dates August 29, 31)

Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6 to 7:30 pm

Cost for each Block is $140

Masters

Starting Date:  June 6, 2023

Ending Date:   September 17, 2023

Weekly Schedule:

         Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6 to 7:30 pm

         Wednesday mornings, 5:30 to 7:00 am

         Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6:30 to 8:00 am

Cost:

         3 sessions:   $110

         5 sessions:   $183

         10 sessions: $357

         25 sessions: $866

         50 sessions: $1706

Here are the links for adult rowing registration:

1. 

(Google Document spreadsheet to be created)

2. 

https://students.arbitersports.com/organizations/wayland-weston-crew