The rowing community is diverse and encompasses:

• rowing both outdoors and indoors;
• all ages, with rowers competing around the world from their early teens into their 90s (a new record was set this February in the 90-94 age category at the CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston - learn more at www.crash-b.org );
• men and women;
• club, school and national teams around the world; and much more.

In addition to supporting competitors to train, some rowing organizations reach out to the broader community to make rowing more accessible to all.

One such group is Community Rowing in Boston, Massachusetts.  The Greater Cambridge/Boston area has been known as a center of college rowing for many years.  But until not too long ago, almost all the rowers were on elite college or high school teams, or were members of small clubs geared toward expert rowers.  Now the community has a place to row.  Discover more about learning and participating in indoor rowing, outdoor rowing, adaptive rowing and other options at: http://www.communityrowing.org

Another group of rowers who are working to reach out to non-rowers is Harlem River Community Rowing in New York City.  Learn more at www.harlemrivercr.org and see www.rownewyork.org/  for information about junior community rowing in New York City.

On the other side of the US, learn to row in Long Beach. Check the schedule of "learn to row" classes at www.longbeachrowing.org

These organizations offer rowing lessons on the river/inlet. But each also uses indoor rowing machines to educate and involve the broader community.  Many rowing club around the country and the world are reaching out increasingly to make it easier for novices to begin rowing.

There is another important form of rowing community, the community that is established around a common cause.  Consider, for example, the Chicago group, Recovery on Water at www.recoveryonwater.org established by and for breast cancer survivors.

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