The Row HQ Android app is ready on Google Play

What can a rower do from the app?

A rower can confirm or decline a session, check the published crew, see available boats, reserve one, read notices, and pay club subs or entry fees in dollars. The member portal offers those identical jobs in a browser, while Android keeps them in an installed app for members who prefer that route.

A useful session record answers the questions that usually arrive separately. Is training still on? Which crew am I in? What boat are we taking? Row HQ keeps those answers together after the coach publishes them. A rower planning an independent outing can check the fleet before claiming a shell, and a club notice can be read beside the rest of the membership information.

• Give the coach a firm answer for the next session.
• Read the crew and seat allocation once it has been published.
• Check which boats are free before placing a reservation.
• Open club notices without searching old messages.
• Pay subs in dollars and handle listed regatta entry fees.

Members can update their profile photo from the phone camera as well. At a larger club, a recognisable picture helps a coach or volunteer match a new name to the person at the shed. The member starts that camera action themselves. The image is attached to the established Row HQ profile, so the membership officer is not left reconciling an app profile with a separate club record.

What does a coach get on their phone?

A coach sees who is available before picking crews, can build and publish a lineup, records attendance, and can review safety trends. It all sits against the club's current information. The training sessions feature explains the connection between member replies, crew planning and the final attendance record.

Selection becomes easier when the coach can begin with reliable answers. During summer racing, that may mean sorting several boats across a busy weekend and knowing which athletes can make each commitment. The published lineup then becomes the agreed version for the squad. At the shed, attendance records the people who actually turned up, rather than treating an earlier confirmation as proof of arrival.

• Review session responses before moving athletes into boats.
• Arrange the lineup and release it only when selection is settled.
• Mark attendance beside the squad before push-off.
• Look through safety trends held within the club account.

A coach remains responsible for the choices. Row HQ does not pick an eight, replace judgement, or decide if conditions are safe. It gives the coach a place to record and publish what has been decided. If a crew changes after a late withdrawal or a boat problem, the phone is close enough to update the official version before athletes act on an old plan.

What notifications does the app send?

A phone alert can arrive when the club cancels a session, publishes a news post, adds a published event, sends club mail, or records a payment. The club causes each notification through its own Row HQ activity. They are practical membership messages, not advertisements sent by Row HQ to promote the product.

A sudden wind change or unsafe water can end a planned session. That cancellation needs to reach people before they travel. Event alerts can cover a newly published regatta date or club function. News and mail let the committee speak through the club account. A payment alert tells the member that the financial record changed, which gives both sides a clear point to check.

• The club marks a scheduled session as cancelled.
• A committee user publishes a news update.
• A new event is released to members.
• Club mail is delivered through the platform.
• The club records a member payment.

The notification is a prompt, while the club record remains the source. Opening Row HQ shows the session, event, post, message or payment behind it. This avoids treating the app as a general chat channel. Coaches and committee users publish the relevant information, and members receive it in the context where the rest of their club work already lives.

How do members sign in?

Members can choose Google, Apple, or their email address and password. All three routes open the same account they use for Row HQ in a web browser. Installing Android does not mean enrolling again, making another profile, or finding a special app created only for their rowing club.

The member relationship sits with the club account, not the handset. Someone may reply to a session on Android, then pay a charge from a laptop later. Both actions reach the same record. A coach moving between the shed and home gets the same continuity. The club does not need to teach a second sign-in process or maintain duplicate contact details.

Committee and admin users receive their own membership, fleet and payment screens. That access depends on the club role already stored in Row HQ. A normal rower does not gain financial or administrative controls through installation. The arrangement keeps phone convenience separate from authority, while an officer can still choose a wider laptop view for longer jobs.

Do members have to install it?

No. Any member can use a normal browser on a phone or laptop and do exactly the same Row HQ work. The Android app is optional. It also needs an internet connection, because no offline mode is included. Club access should never depend on somebody owning Android or choosing to install another app.

That makes mixed squads manageable. One athlete may like the installed icon and push alerts. Another may prefer the browser. Their answers still arrive in the same session, and their boat reservations still affect the same fleet. The coach sees a single list, not separate app and browser groups. The committee can explain one system while letting each person choose how to open it.

With no offline mode, Row HQ is not a safety fallback when reception drops. Clubs should continue their normal briefing, sign-out and on-water procedures. The app covers information and administration when connected. It does not replace local judgement at the pontoon, a coach's call on conditions, or whatever process the club uses if phones cannot load.

When is the iPhone app coming?

The iPhone version has been submitted to Apple and is waiting for review. Row HQ is not giving a release date. iPhone members can use the complete browser service during that wait, so sessions, crews, reservations, notices and payments remain available without an App Store installation.

Apple controls the review queue after submission. A promised day would therefore be guesswork. The clear message for an Australian club is that Android is published now and iPhone browser access is already usable. The committee does not need to delay its setup or split summer planning into different systems while waiting for the App Store decision.

Approval will not require members to create replacement accounts. The club, permissions and existing information stay in Row HQ. The iPhone app will simply offer another way to open that material after publication. Until then, avoid telling athletes that it will arrive before a named regatta. There is no confirmed date to support that claim.

How do I get my club on it?

Members at a current Row HQ club can install the Android app free from Google Play and sign in. New clubs should set up Row HQ free first, organise the club account, and invite members whose details will then work in the app and browser.

The rowing club app overview covers the full set of club roles. Check Australian pricing for the dollar bands beyond the free starting level. Installing Android does not create a new subscription or independent database. It opens the platform where the club already manages people, boats, sessions, events and money.

For an Australian club in summer regatta season, that means the current plan can travel with the squad. Rowers check their boat before arriving. Coaches publish a changed crew near the shed. Treasurers record subs in dollars against the member who paid. The app keeps those ordinary club decisions visible without asking anyone to learn a second system.