Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I join?
A: Find the "Join" page in the website's navigation. Fill out an interest form to receive contact from the coaching staff.
Q: Do I need rowing experience?
A: No experience necessary. Collegiate rowers come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Q: What is the practice schedule for a new member?
A: Novices (first year rowers) have the choice between two practice times Monday - Friday at 3:30PM and 5:00PM during the Fall 2018 Season.
No experience is necessary to join our crew team. Good rowers are generally (but not always!) tall, athletic but also competitive. If you want to win, we can teach you to be strong, fit and row. First-year rowers have your own team, your own coach and your own races. You will travel to the same races as the varsity team to race other first-year teams, and even compete for a first-year National Championship against other walk-on rowers from UCLA, Michigan, Perdue, Notre Dame and Virginia. Minnesota won the National Championship in the Novice Four in 2023. Two of the four rowers were walk-ons who had never been in a shell before arriving on campus.
Your first practice will be when school starts in the fall. Practices are in the afternoons, last 90-120 minutes, and are scheduled around your classes. We will never ask you to miss a class for practice. The team’s academic success is equally important to our athletic success. The University of Minnesota Men’s Crew had 9 Academic All-Americans in 2025. You will start by learning the basics of rowing in a boat, and do additional physical training on land. By October, you will get good enough to move a boat fast and even do some developmental races in the fall. You will definitely get in the best shape of your life.
When the Mississippi river freezes over in the winter, you will train indoors. You will use weights, rowing machines and a special rowing ‘tank’ (like a big above-ground pool) to train. Special workouts in the snow are also part of the fun. For spring break, you will travel to Clinton, TN for an intensive week of on-the-water training that will get you ready to start the championship spring season.
Spring racing is side-by-side, where the coxswain will push you to do everything in your power to get to the finish line first. When you win a boat race, the loser will give you their shirt right off their back (best tradition in college sports). You will travel to Michigan, Illinois and Indiana to race other top club teams in the country and hopefully earn more shirts. You finish the year by competing against 30+ other crews for the National Championship in Oak Ridge, TN in late May. That’s a lot of shirts.
All this will happen alongside your teammates, often your best friends. Rowing is the ultimate team sport, where the crew relies on every rower and the coxswain to work together as a unit. You will be inspired by them, and push yourself harder because they are right behind you. When you win, you get to throw your all-important coxswain into the water.
All this sound interesting? Fill out the Recruiting Form and we’ll tell you more about this great sport and how to get started. Row the Boat!