We organise rowers in three broad groups, with sessions on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and, in the summer, evenings on the lake. In all cases, the head coaches for each group make the decisions on who joins which group and the crew combinations for the outings.
- Racing Session/Group 1 - Competition Squad. For men and women, and exceptionally, older juniors, of a strong technical competence in both sweep and sculling who wish to train regularly and hard, and race to win.
- Racing Session/Group 2 - for men, women and juniors who can scull competently (sweep may be added in this group), who wish to train regularly and who wish to race.
- Development/Beginners Session 3 - for men, women and juniors who are beginners (eg coming on from our Learn to Row courses) or are developing in their rowing (eg sweep rowers learning to scull, or getting boat fit after a break) or who would like a recreational no-pressure session
- We also aim to offer Taster RowShow Sessions and Learn to Row courses throughout the year for people new to the sport. Many graduates of this course have moved onto one of the three sessions above. Please note : we have been unable to run regular Tasters since March 2020 due to Lockdowns and distancing protocols but also because our Lake access has eroded and we need to be sure we can offer sessions which are safe and sustainable. We hope to be able to invite new members before long. Our April 2024 RowShows have filled up our Learn to Row sessions for 2024 and we may be unable to offer more until 2025.
Further details of each of the club sections is described below.
If you are interested in joining the club please contact
ardinglyrcmembership@gmail.com who will provide all of the information you need and put you in touch with the relevant session coordinator. Please note we have a waiting list for a Taster RowShow session and we are not sure whether we will offer any more in 2024.
Competent adult oarsmen and women may also go out in other daylight hours as long as they do not clash with the organised club sessions described above. There are specific rules to non-coached sessions and these will be explained to you by your Club contact.
All members of the club are strongly encouraged to do additional land training during the week, especially during the winter months, to supplement their activity on the water. This is essential if rowers wish to progress to race.
We do not have training facilities at the club so members are encouraged to make their own arrangements at home or at a local gym. If individuals can group together once or twice a week to make it all more do-able, so much the better. For juniors, we are fortunate to have use of the Ergo facilities of Ardingly College two nights per week.