New to Rowing?

Anyone can row!

Rowing at Shaker Heights High School is a school-sponsored and supported varsity spring sport, open to boys or girl in grades 9-12, and no experience is necessary to join.

The team also offers a fall competitive season and winter training at the high school and at the boathouse. Summer opportunities for rowing can be found through our boathouse as well, the Foundry.

I’m brand-new: how do I get started?

You can start in middle school - see our MS program information here - but it is not necessary. Many athletes who join in their freshman year have taken a Learn-to-Row course through the Foundry, but it is likewise not required.

We encourage freshman to start in the fall of their freshman year because the nicer weather makes for an easier learning experience, but we also accept brand-new rowers in the spring of their freshman year or either season in sophomore year. Because of certain rules in our championship regattas in the spring, it is tough for athletes in their junior year or higher to learn the sport quickly enough to have a good experience.

We also offer open practices and open houses at the boathouse - check our social media feeds and this website for that information each season. You can always email us with questions too!

Once you’re fairly certain you’re interested in rowing, you’d register on FinalForms as you would for any other varsity sport offered at SHHS.

When and where are practices? When and where are competitions?

Practices are after school and on Saturday mornings, usually downtown at the Foundry; there are 4-5 competitions each season on weekends around the region. Check out our Schedules page for more details on this year.

I’ve never done a sport - is rowing hard or easy?

Rowing is one motion, done over and over - easy to learn, tricky to master! Aside from learning the technique, rowing is most comparable to middle-distance running or swimming: it requires both endurance and strength. If you’ve never done a sport before, don’t be afraid to give it a try! Every year we have athletes join who discover they had a great rower inside them all along and never knew.

Is it like a club, where I can participate in other sports or a lot of other activities in the same season?

In short, no. Rowing at SHHS is a varsity sport that does require a significant investment of time, so you cannot participate in other sports. We absolutely DO have athletes in band and other co-curricular activities, but if you are new to high school sports and clubs, we suggest you think carefully about your commitments and make sure you can attend all practices and regattas, as it is not possible to miss regularly for other activities.

But can I do other sports in other seasons?

Absolutely! We love to have multi-sport athletes. It should be noted that spring is our championship season, and while you can absolutely row in the spring and do something else in the fall, you cannot row in the fall but do something else in the spring. Rowing can become your year-round activity, or something that you only do a few months a year (though it’s important to note that most successful high school rowers in the US do at least two seasons related to rowing each year (e.g. spring and fall, or spring and winter, etc).

Does the team travel? Will I get to go fun places?

The team travels for regattas 4-5 times per season, and depending on your definition of fun, absolutely! We go to regional hot spots like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Ann Arbor, Cincinnati… but all kidding aside, there are also opportunities for longer trips at least once a season, often to major rowing competitions in cities like Philadelphia where were compete with thousands of athletes from around the country. The national championships change location every year, from places like Princeton, New Jersey to Tennessee to Florida.

Is the team any good?

See the top photo! The team is competitive in the region and often on a national level. In 2024 a Shaker varsity boat won bronze at the Scholastic National Championships! While we do have fun and there are not currently cuts or try-outs, the team strives for excellence on the water. We work hard - and in rowing, it’s often said that you get out of it what you put into it. With most high school rowers never having rowed before high school, you can enter as a freshman with no experience and end up a champion in just a few years.

Do any Shaker rowers go on to row in college? Can I get recruited or scholarships for rowing?

We have athletes who are recruited and go on to row in college every year. Recent grads have gone on to row at DI and Ivy League schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Colgate, Texas, Fordham, Loyola Maryland, Smith, Jacksonville, and more (see the Alumni page for details). Because women’s rowing is an NCAA sport, there are significant opportunities for girls especially to get scholarship money for rowing. There are lots of opportunities for boys to get recruited, but not as much scholarship money.