Row HQ Launch Announcement

Row HQ is now accepting Australian rowing clubs, GPS schools, AGSV / GSV programmes, and university boat clubs. Here's what it does and how we got here. We've spent the past year building and testing with our pilot club, Oundle Town Rowing Club (OTRC), and the platform is ready for Australian programmes preparing crews for King's Cup, Head of the Yarra, the Australian Schools Championships, and beyond.

What is Row HQ?

Row HQ is a web-based rowing club management platform that handles training sessions, boat bookings, crew lineups, member communication, regattas, and admin reporting from a single login. It was built with a UK launch club and has local versions for Australia, the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland. It runs on phones, tablets, and desktops.

The Journey to Launch

Row HQ started because most rowing clubs and school programmes still run on spreadsheets, paper forms, and WhatsApp groups. That works up to a point. After that point it creates a lot of admin and things fall through the gaps, particularly when crews are being finalised in the lead-up to Head of the Yarra or the Australian Schools Championships.

Over the past year we've worked closely with OTRC to understand the specific problems rowing programmes run into. Coordinating training sessions across senior, masters, and novice squads, managing boat bookings, tracking member attendance. The result is features built around how programmes actually work, adapted for Australian club workflows around Rowing Australia events and GPS school regatta calendars.

What features does Row HQ offer?

Row HQ covers the workflows Australian programmes actually spend time on. Session scheduling, boat booking with double-booking prevention, crew lineups with drag-and-drop assignment, a self-service member portal, regatta and event management for King's Cup and state events, dues collection via Stripe in AUD, and an admin dashboard with attendance and financial reporting. Everything works in a browser on phones, tablets, and desktops.

• Session management: Create, schedule, and run training sessions, with crew suggestions based on availability and ergometer scores.
• Boat booking: Real-time availability, conflict prevention, and equipment tracking. Critical when an Eight, two Quads, and a handful of singles are all going on the water at the same dawn outing.
• Member portal: Self-service so members and parents confirm sessions, view schedules, and update availability without messaging the captain or Director of Rowing.
• Regatta management: Head of the Yarra, Australian Schools Championships, state-level regattas, and head-race entries - lineups and travel-squad communication in one place.
• Analytics: Track attendance, monitor boat usage, and see what is actually happening across the programme - useful for crew selection and head-of-the-river preparation.

Pilot Club Results

Working with OTRC shaped everything about how Row HQ works. Their feedback on what actually matters in day-to-day programme admin kept us focused on practical problems rather than features that sound good on paper. The same patterns translate to Australian community clubs, GPS schools, and university boat clubs. The full story is in our Oundle Town Rowing Club case study.

"What used to take hours of coordination just happens now. Coaches spend their time coaching instead of chasing availability, and members actually use the self-service features."

Our Commitment to Australian Rowing

As we open up to Australian clubs, schools, and university boat clubs, here's what we're committed to:

• Fair, transparent AUD pricing that scales with programme size
• Personalised onboarding and training for your committee, coaches, or Director of Rowing
• Ongoing improvements driven by what Australian clubs and schools ask for
• Support from people who understand rowing and the Australian regatta calendar
• Privacy Act 1988 compliance and Australian-aligned data handling for school programmes

What's Next?

This is just the start. We've got a lot planned, including:

• The Row HQ web app installs to the home screen from any phone browser and keeps getting better on mobile
• Deeper ergometer performance tracking and analytics
• Integrations with popular timing systems and regatta management tools
• More coach tools for periodised training plan management
• Multi-club support for state associations and school groups managing multiple programmes

We build based on what programmes tell us they need. If something's missing for your club, school, or university programme, we want to hear about it.

Try Row HQ

If your programme is still running on spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups, have a look at what Row HQ can do. Browse the screenshot gallery to see the platform in action, read the FAQ for common questions, or get started straight away. We are accepting enquiries from Australian programmes of all sizes.

Thank You

Thanks to everyone at OTRC for being our pilot club and putting up with the early versions. Their feedback shaped what Row HQ is today. Read what other programmes think on our testimonials page.

Less admin, more rowing.

- The Row HQ Team