Rowing at IRC
People row for various reasons, most often to get fit (or fitter), to develop or improve their rowing technique and to be part of a team or group.
Club sessions are scheduled for Saturday mornings, Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings. These outings are coordinated by a club safety officer or other accredited member to carry out our safety procedures. Members that have passed the safety accreditation are free to row on the main river at any time. Members without a safety accreditation may row at any time under the control of another accredited member.
COMPETITIVE ATHLETES – the club benefits from having a volunteer Level 3 coach, with international success with the GB Junior Team, as well as club successes at the London heads, Henley Royal and Henley Women’s regattas. Men’s and Women’s squads are coordinated with structured training plans and supervised outings.
BEGINNERS – please look at our Start Rowing page.
Can I have a look-round first? – Yes – if you are unsure, we would suggest that you have a Taster session before committing to our Start Rowing course. Each taster session lasts about two hours and starts with a look at the club and its facilities, what it takes to get a boat out on the river, a run-through of the basic stroke on a rowing machine followed by ‘dry rowing’ on land to learn how to handle the oars . Taster sessions cost just £10 and are available on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Contact Us to make your arrangements for your session.
SAFETY – The safety of our members is paramount during their time at the club and on the water. Open waterways are busy places with an ever increasing number of pleasure boats. The Port of Ipswich is a busy, successful, commercial enterprise with large ocean-going ships manoeuvring in the dock area. Ipswich RC has a comprehensive and robust Safety Manual and Code of Practice which must be followed by every rower. This ensures that shipping movements are always known in advance and safety risks are minimised.