Adult Rowing Programs at Wayland Weston Rowing Association (WWRA) 2024

In addition to the several rowing programs offered to middle school, high school, and collegiate students, WWRA offers adults six rowing opportunities: Introduction to Rowing (Learn To Row), Team Rowing, Experienced Rowing (Masters), Learn To Be A Coxswain, Private Rowing Lessons, and Winter Indoor Rowing Machine (Erging) Sessions. All ages 18 and up.

Introduction To Rowing (Learn to Row)

WWRA has monthly Introduction to Rowing sessions during the season. These are held over a weekend and typically there are 3 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. Introduction to Rowing is intended for people who have no rowing experience in sliding seat boats, and the students learn enough to be comfortable rowing both sweep and sculling boats.

Team Rowing

The 3- or 4-week blocks of sessions (two evening rows per week, weekdays 6:00 to 7:30 pm) have been useful for rowers who have already learned the basics of sliding seat rowing to develop their rowing skills. Typically groups from various organizations row these sessions. They row in boats of various sizes, both sweep rowing and sculling, and receive on the water coaching. The pre-requisite is to already know how to row sliding seat, sweep or sculling boats.

Experienced Rowing (Masters)

The Experienced Rowing sessions are intended for people with some rowing experience either in sweep rowing, sculling, or both. They are masters in age only, not necessarily expertise! Experienced rowers can row the entire season as their schedules allow. We have 4 to 5 sessions per week and people sign up for any sessions that suit their schedule. Typically, there are Experienced Rowing sessions one or two early weekday mornings (5:30 to 7:00 am), one or two weekend mornings (6:30 to 8:00 am), and two weekday evening sessions (6:00 to 7:30 pm). The pre-requisite is to already know how to row sliding seat, sweep or sculling boats.

Learn To Be A Coxswain

Coxswains are navigators and coaches in sliding seat boats so are valued members of team boats (4 or 8 rowers). We offer the opportunity of targeted sessions for people who want to learn to be effective coxswains. You do not need to have a rowing background to join these sessions.

Private Rowing Lessons

For those who desire individual instruction whether just learning to row or as a refresher, several of our coaches offer private lessons. Please inquire through the website contact information.

Who

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 a handful of rowers each season have been interested in competition. Participation in any of these aspects is entirely up to each rower. Overall most of our rowers are interested in getting out onto the water and having some fun exercise in a beautiful setting.

Boats

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 supervised by a coach in a safety launch. 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; please drive slowly through the adjacent residential neighborhood. 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 abundant wildlife, and interestingly an occasional hazard is early morning long distance swimmers! Overall, it’s a beautiful place to row.

Requirements

The WWRA Adult Rowing Programs accept all adults age 18 and up, with no residency restrictions, but we have some other requirements for on the water rowing, described below.

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 adult rowing sessions on the WWRA website (www.wwcrew.org). The payment is through Family ID / Arbiter Sports which you’ll be directed to automatically.

3) For Experienced Rowing 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) All new rowers at WWRA are encouraged to complete a WWRA Swim Test, which is then good lifetime. The WWRA Swim Test Form is available on the WWRA website in several locations. Any lifeguard can supervise and sign the form. 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), town pools, or at a health club pool such as the YMCA (which may charge a guest fee). 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 any swim test can row wearing a life jacket.

5) We have a saying at WWRA: “If you’re early you’re on time, if you’re on time you’re late, and if you’re late, …” Seriously, try to arrive 10 minutes before the formal start of your session to allow time to get oars and boats down to the docks. This will maximize the amount of time we spend on the water.

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 a weekday evening at 6 pm. The group size 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 the popular 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.

Wayland Weston Rowing Association (WWRA) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization.

Steve Mascioli                                                        952-994-1448

Masters Captain                                                  masterscaptain@wwcrew.org

Wayland Weston Rowing Association               srmascioli@gmail.com

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