Youth Rowing on the Maroochy River Sunshine Coast
Ages 12-27 junior - young adult rowing, learn to row and come-and-try programs — building rowers from first strokes to state and national level.
Win $15,000 CASH
Back our athletes racing at Queensland & New South Wales State Championships, and the Australian Rowing Championships
Join UniSC Boatclub
Heading to university doesn't mean hanging up the oars. Our UniSC Boat Club partnership keeps you racing, training, and connected to the crew that got you here.
We'll Float your Boats to NSW States and ARC27
NSW States, February 2027. Nationals, Perth, March 2027.
Sunshine Coast to SIRC Penrith. Sunshine Coast to Champion Lakes Perth. We're doing the kilometres — and we can get your boat there too.
Learn to Row
This is where it all starts, run five times a year during the school holidays — January, Easter, Winter and Spring holidays, and December — so there's rarely a long wait to get started. If you're not ready to commit to a full program, our Try Rowing days let you get on the water for a single session and find out if rowing's for you, no strings attached.
- Six-session Learn to Row program,
- No experience needed
- Modest fitness requirement
- Three Try Rowing days a year — one-off sessions, zero commitment
- The natural entry point into the Novice Squad once you're ready to keep going
Novice Squad
This is where the fundamentals get locked in. Novice rowers spend three to six months mastering balance, technique and boat feel — sculling across different boat classes, building the endurance and strength that everything else depends on — all building toward stepping up to your first regatta.
- Training two to three days a week, plus off-water conditioning
- Mastering balance, technique and sculling across different boat classes
- Building endurance and strength as a foundation for everything ahead
- Preparing for your first regatta
Development Squad
This is where crews become teams. Development squad rowers train hard, race often, and build the kind of bond that comes from grinding through early mornings together — while starting to get genuinely serious about competing at a higher level.
- Training three to four days a week, on-water and off-water sessions
- Competing across a full regatta calendar throughout the year
- Building toward Queensland State selection
Pathways Squad
The Pathways squad trains for State and National Regattas — and connects directly into the Rowing Queensland and Rowing Australia talent pathway for rowers with genuine representative ambitions.
- Training six days a week, on and off-water sessions
- Racing at Queensland States, NSW States and the Australian Rowing Championships
- Linked to the Rowing Queensland and Rowing Australia pathway
Uni Squad
Heading to university doesn't mean hanging up the oars — whether you're chasing selection or just want to stay fit and connected to the crew that got you here.
- Train three sessions a week — built around uni life, not against it
- Compete at Uni Games
- Stay fit and connected
- Open to UniSC-enrolled students
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Recreational Rowing
Recreational rowing at MRRC is for anyone who wants the fitness, the headspace, and the community of being on the water
- Self-managed — no coach, no squad structure
- Build your own crew, or scull independently
- Your own schedule, your pace
- Open to ages 18+
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Uwe Lassen
Novice & Learn to Row Squad Lead Pathways & Development...
Amanda Rukuwai
Bec Biddle
Hamish Parry
Pathways Lead
At 72 years of age and with a lifetime spent in and around rowing, I’ve had the privilege of seeing the sport evolve across generations. From the Olympic course in Montreal to clubs across Australia, what continues to inspire me most isn’t just fast boats or winning crews—it’s the kind of people rowing can shape when the right values are in place.
In recent months, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with the Maroochy River Rowing Club. What I’ve seen here is truly remarkable. This is a club that punches well above its weight—not just in performance, but in the calibre of young people it is producing. These aspiring rowers are respectful, hardworking, and grounded, displaying determination and diligence in their training. They seek to enjoy the sport of rowing and carry themselves with quiet pride.
Ian Luxford
I am proud to support the Maroochy River Rowing Club in their mission to grow the sport of rowing and provide meaningful opportunities for young people across the Sunshine Coast.
This is a club with serious ambition, and the capability to deliver. Their strategic plan is bold, future-focused, and grounded in real action. From building school partnerships to preparing for the possibility of hosting international Olympic teams in the lead-up to 2032, they are positioning themselves as a centre of excellence for youth development and high-performance sport.
But what stands out most is their commitment to transforming lives. At a time when too many young people are stuck indoors and glued to screens, Maroochy River Rowing Club is getting kids out onto the water, into the sunshine, and reconnected with nature, community, and healthy living. It’s a vision that’s as important as it is inspiring, and they’re delivering on it every day.
Jarrod Bleijie
In my position as the Queensland Academy of Sport ‘Head Rowing Coach’, I am extremely passionate about the development of rowing at all levels throughout Queensland.
Having met with Maroochy River Rowing Club representatives and read their strategic plan I fully support their applications for funding for the club. The opportunities that the club has identified in terms of of athlete streams from local schools, university and community is outstanding. Their strategic vision to create a place of hard work within a highly supportive environment, aligns completely with our high-performance pathway in the QAS.
Having worked all over the world in different capacities, it is very evident that these types of projects are the cornerstone of the high-performance pathway with many Olympians and coming from these centres of excellence.
Donald McLachlan
row, refill, repeat
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January 2026 Learn to Row — Bring a Friend (or Three!)
Click to view January 2026 Learn to Row — Bring a Friend (or Three!)