About

Mission Statement

Our mission is to bring the sport of rowing to the residents of South Park, Georgetown, White Center, and surrounding neighborhoods of the Duwamish Valley, and to offer recreational access to the Duwamish River that is affordable for everyone. 

 

Vision

The Duwamish Rowing Club is a volunteer-led program providing affordable health and recreation opportunities for the South Park and Georgetown communities, and beyond, through rowing access to Seattle’s only river. The club offers opportunities for health and enrichment, solidarity and joy, and encourages stewardship of the Duwamish River while fostering teamwork, sportsmanship, integrity, and respect for the environment.  

 

About Us 

Duwamish Rowing Club is a grassroots organization founded in 2011 in South Park.Our purpose is to bring the sport of rowing to the Duwamish River in a way that is affordable and accessible for the people in the surrounding communities. We are a volunteer-led organization and many of our participants and supporters live or work in the South Park neighborhood, and most within the surrounding neighborhoods of the Duwamish Valley.We do not turn anyone away based on their inability to afford rowing. Our adult crew helps to support our youth rowing program through their membership dues and club leadership. We are also supported through our fundraisers and by the generosity of private donations and public grant programs. 

 

Our Values

• Our sport is on the water, and we center the majority of our training on being out on the river. We strive to learn the histories of the place where we row. We recognize the unique place that is the Duwamish River and acknowledge the Coast Salish people past and present that both inhabit and care for it.  We share the river with our neighbors, and respect the rights of others on and off the water. 

• Our number one concern and moral obligation is for the safety of our crew.

• We strive to become oarspeople. We define an oarsperson as one who makes hard work, integrity, and good sportsmanship an integral part of their character.

• We emphasize the art of rowing and the history of our sport, that is the technique, beauty, and grace of a team rowing as one.

• We strive to promote a culture of respect, inclusion, and endeavor to build strong bonds between team members.

• We always work to the best of our ability and in every race we give one hundred percent.

• We are never boastful, but we are always confident.

• We are always gracious, whether in victory or defeat.

• We strongly emphasize respect and care for our rowing shells, oars, and other club equipment.

• We believe that people are most successful when they love what they do, and that fun is a crucial component.

• We involve ourselves as much as possible in the cleanup efforts on the Duwamish, and we strive to be good representatives of the river and surrounding communities.