Newark Rowing Club

I am missing rowing with the ladies I used to row with and turning up to the club at 7 a.m. They offer Learn2Row courses, but this club focuses more on sculling than sweeping. Which I didn’t realize until later when I toured other clubs back in the U.S. In the fee for your Learn2Row course (£60 when I did it), you get six lessons, a packet of information regarding the rules, vocabulary, and silver membership to British Rowing, including a subscription to Rowing and Regatta.
I remember my first couple times showing up to the club for lessons, it was very chaotic. Trying to figure out who is going in what boat, if there are enough people to help out/​cox, but you kind of get used to it. I will say that there were times where I wished I had gotten to go in a certain boat and get specialized tutorials like some of the people learning. However, I looked forward to my weekends at the club. Rowing is wonderful and getting to row here, with the scenery was always a pleasure.
I will say that once you complete the Learn2Row course, you have the option of joining the club. I decided to join, but noticed that I got left off of emails and it was difficult for some of us women to get into a crew that we could row with on a regular basis. Particularly when everyone is gearing up for a race and the novices are still learning and haven’t even been in a racing boat. I was hoping to do a long-​distance row or even my first race, but never got the chance and was a little upset about that. When I talked with one of the people that holds a position at the club, he said, «You have to be pushy. Keep pushing and you are bound to get in.» Being pushy only worked sometimes.
The thing is, this club’s membership has grown so much, that they are having trouble keeping up with everything. While it does leave some members to their own devices, it is also a good sign that there is demand and with that means the expansion of the club. I hear they are building a new clubhouse… which should be a definite improvement over the last one… although I always enjoyed, piling into the clubhouse and having tea and cake after a good row in the crisp weather. I think they recognize that they are growing rather quickly and that they are having difficulty keeping up, so hopefully that means that they will be working to correct those problems I cited above.
Regardless, I love this club, I miss it, and am so glad that I learned to row. And that they let me be that strange American that turns up on the weekends. If you are looking for a great way to get a full body workout, enjoy the outdoors, and be social… learn to row.