The rowing scene in Ottawa
Ottawa is home to one of the oldest rowing clubs in Canada, founded the same year as Confederation. The Ottawa Rowing Club, established in 1867 with John A. Macdonald as its inaugural president, has rowed on the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal system for more than 150 years. The citys multi-club scene hosts the annual Head of the Rideau Regatta, drawing over 700 athletes from clubs across Ontario, Quebec and the United States.
Key numbers
The Ottawa River - one of Canadas great waterways, forming the border between Ontario and Quebec - provides open, fast-flowing training water near the city centre. The Rideau River and Canal system to the south offers calmer, sheltered water for head racing and recreational rowing. The 5.3 km Head of the Rideau course runs from Black Rapids to Hog's Back on the Rideau River.
All 2 rowing clubs in Ottawa
Sorted by founding year. Every entry links to the club's own website; we verified all URLs in May 2026. If you spot an error or your club is missing, let us know.
| Club | Founded | Location | Reach | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ottawa Rowing Club
Founded 6 June 1867 - the same year as Canadian Confederation - with John A. Macdonald as its first president, the Ottawa Rowing Club is Canadas oldest rowing club. A non-profit, volunteer-driven community organisation, it serves members aged 12 to 70+ from the Ottawa and Outaouais region. Originally built on pontoons moored at the foot of Parliament Hill; in 1890 the club moved on-land to its Lady Grey Drive site, where the heritage "old Boathouse" (built 1896) still serves the community today. Hosts the annual Head of the Rideau Regatta, which attracts over 700 athletes from across the region. |
1867 | 10 Lady Grey Drive, Ottawa, ON | Ottawa River | Senior community / competitive / masters |
|
Ottawa New Edinburgh Club (ONEC Rowing)
Established in 1883 as the Ottawa Canoe Club, renamed Ottawa New Edinburgh Club after a merger in 1914. One of only four surviving nineteenth-century cottage-style boathouses in Canada. Rowing was added as a formal programme in the 1990s and now operates as ONEC Rowing out of the heritage Rockcliffe Park boathouse on the Ottawa River. |
1883 | 504 Sir George-Etienne Cartier Parkway, Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON | Ottawa River (Rockcliffe Park) | Senior community / recreational |
Major regattas in or near Ottawa
Third weekend of September
Software for Ottawa rowing clubs
Most of the 2 clubs above still run their boat booking, member admin, session attendance and crew lineups on a combination of spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and printed sheets on the boathouse wall. Row HQ is rowing-club management software built specifically for clubs like these.
If your committee is hitting the predictable problems - lineups in the wrong file, fees uncollected, attendance unrecorded, captain on holiday with the password - book a 30-minute demo. We've ported clubs from spreadsheets in a weekend.
See Row HQ for your club
Free forever for clubs of up to 20 active members. No card needed.
Other rowing-club cities
Looking at the wider regional scene? Here are the other cities we have full directories for.
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From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in Ottawa as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.