Community Driven Boathouse

River City Rowing Club , West Sacramento, California

The River City Rowing Club is relatively new to the scene, but has been a solid member of the rowing community since its inception in 1983. The boathouse, named for the club, offers access to the Port of Sacramento in West Sacramento. In order to ensure that the boathouse is constantly in good shape for everyone to enjoy, each team has its weekly, monthly, and bi-monthly responsibilities to clean certain areas of the boathouse. While this keeps the boathouse in tip-top condition, it also helps to build a feeling of solidarity between the members of the team, and helps them keep pride not only in the sport they love but the facility that allows them to do so.

The club has a competitive juniors division, a novice masters division, and a recreational masters division, while also allowing its facilities to be used by the University of California Davis rowing team. Periodically, it will host regattas such as Head of the Port, while also holding in-club events such as the River City Rebellion (a 1,000 meter sprint between all rowers who register). At some of these races, however, members are expected to volunteer their time in order to work the docks, as an official, or one of several other positions to allow a smooth experience for others who race. With a strong commitment to serving the community as well as the club itself, River City Rowing Club is an organization to be admired.