Row HQ for Rowing NZ-Affiliated Clubs
Row HQ is built for clubs affiliated to Rowing NZ and the ten regional rowing associations. Member records hold Rowing NZ affiliation status, water-safety qualifications, and regatta eligibility data - alongside the boat booking, crew selection, and training session tools your club uses every day.
What does "Rowing NZ integration" mean in practice?
Rowing NZ runs member registration through the Rowing Connect platform and regatta entries through the RowIT system - neither of which publishes a public API today. What Row HQ does is give your club administrators a dedicated place to record and verify each member's Rowing NZ affiliation status, membership number, regional association, and water-safety qualifications - so that information lives in the same system as your boat bookings, crew lineups, training sessions, and AGM records. Admins can run reports of lapsed members, check Maadi Cup or NZ Championships eligibility before entries open, and export structured reports that cut manual re-entry into Rowing Connect and RowIT. Row HQ is also Privacy Act 2020-aligned and UEMA-ready for the commercial messaging your club sends to members. Direct Rowing Connect and RowIT sync is on the roadmap and depends on Rowing NZ opening partner access.
What Row HQ does now for Rowing NZ-affiliated clubs
The following features are live and ready for Rowing NZ-affiliated clubs today.
Rowing NZ membership status fields
Each member record holds Rowing NZ membership type (Club Rower, Masters, Junior / Secondary School, Coach, Umpire), Rowing Connect membership number, regional association (Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and the others), and competition-licence renewal date. Admins filter the member list by status and export lapsed-member reports for end-of-season renewal campaigns.
Water-safety qualifications
Store swim-competency pass date, capsize-drill completion, lifejacket (NZS 5823) issue records, and any additional certifications per member. The system flags members with lapsed qualifications before they can be added to a crew for an on-water session - aligned with Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 obligations and Maritime NZ guidance.
Maadi Cup and NZ Champs eligibility checks
Before submitting Maadi Cup, NZ Championships, North or South Island Championship crews, coaches run a structured eligibility check: current Rowing NZ competition licence, regional-association affiliation, water-safety cert, age-group eligibility for NZSSRA categories, and coxswain weight rules.
Regatta and event management
Build events for the Maadi Cup (Lake Karapiro or Lake Ruataniwha), NZ Championships, North Island and South Island Championships, NZ Universities Championships, NZ Masters Championships, regional regattas (Head of the Harbour, Head of the Waikato), and head races on the Whanganui or Avon. Manage crew sheets, payment collection, and waitlists. Crew sheets export to the format used for RowIT submission.
Privacy Act 2020 member data and UEMA-aligned communications
All member data is handled under the 13 Information Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 2020. Club communications (renewal reminders, regatta notices, fundraising) are sent with UEMA-aligned consent tracking - members manage preferences from their portal. Cross-border disclosure (we host in the UK) is documented under IPP 12 with safeguards on file.
Renewal reminders
Automated email and in-app reminders (UEMA-compliant) go out to members whose Rowing NZ competition licence or water-safety qualification is approaching expiry. Members renew directly with Rowing NZ via Rowing Connect; admins update status in Row HQ.
Planned federation integrations (roadmap)
The following are on the roadmap and depend on Rowing NZ opening partner access to Rowing Connect or RowIT. We are transparent about what is not built yet.
Rowing Connect membership API sync
Roadmap - pending Rowing Connect APIDirect read from Rowing Connect so member affiliation status updates automatically without manual entry. Requires Rowing NZ to publish a partner API - not available as of May 2026.
RowIT regatta entry submission
Roadmap - pending RowIT entry APISubmitting Maadi Cup, NZ Championships and regional regatta entries directly from Row HQ into RowIT. Currently Row HQ helps prepare crews, check eligibility and export sheets in the RowIT format - actual submission still happens in the RowIT portal.
Concept2 Logbook API integration
RoadmapImporting Concept2 ergometer results from the Logbook API so Maadi Cup ergo-trial times and club ergo-champ scores populate athlete records automatically. Concept2 Logbook has a public API; integration is planned for a future release.
GST-inclusive invoicing and Incorporated Societies Act 2022 reporting
RoadmapStructured GST-inclusive invoices for membership subscriptions and event payments, plus export formats aligned to the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 financial reporting requirements that all affiliated clubs must meet under the new (April 2026) compliance regime.
How Row HQ compares to Hello Club and Friendly Manager for NZ clubs
The main alternatives to Row HQ in NZ are Hello Club (AU/NZ multi-sport platform, strong general-purpose, light rowing context) and Friendly Manager (NZ-based generic club management). A neutral comparison is on the rowing club software comparison page.
| Feature | Row HQ | Hello Club | Friendly Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing NZ context | Rowing NZ affiliation, 10 regional associations, Privacy Act 2020, UEMA, Maadi Cup and NZ Champs workflow built in | Multi-sport AU/NZ platform; rowing is one of many sports - no NZSSRA, RowIT, or Maadi Cup workflow | NZ-based; general club registration and subs - limited rowing-specific workflow |
| Boat booking | Full conflict-blocking, per-hull access rules, live availability | Generic resource booking module | No dedicated boat booking module |
| Pricing transparency | Published: free to 20, then from NZ$33/mo (excl GST) | Published per-member tiers (NZD options) | On request |
| Free trial | Free forever to 20 members | 30 days | Demo only |
Questions from Rowing NZ-affiliated clubs
Does Row HQ directly connect to Rowing Connect or RowIT?
Not yet. Rowing NZ does not publish a public API for Rowing Connect or RowIT. Row HQ gives you structured fields to record and report on Rowing NZ membership and regatta-entry data, but the data round-trip into Rowing Connect and RowIT is manual until partner access is opened.
Can I submit Maadi Cup or NZ Championships entries from Row HQ?
Not directly. Row HQ helps you build your crews, check eligibility (including the Maadi Cup age-group rules and coxswain weight rules), and export crew sheets in the RowIT-friendly format. The actual entry submission still happens through RowIT.
Is Row HQ compliant with the Privacy Act 2020 and UEMA for New Zealand clubs?
Row HQ is designed around the 13 Information Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 2020. Cross-border disclosure to our UK host is documented under IPP 12 with reasonable-steps safeguards on file. Club communications (renewal reminders, regatta notices, fundraising) are sent with UEMA-aligned consent tracking - members manage their preferences from the member portal.
We have university crews, masters and secondary school rowers in the same club - can Row HQ handle that?
Yes. Multi-squad programmes with separate rosters, eligibility rules and fee structures for university (NZ Universities Champs), masters (NZ Masters Champs), secondary school (NZSSRA / Maadi Cup), and community / recreational members are a core use case.
Does Row HQ help with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 deadline?
Indirectly, yes. Row HQ tracks the structured member, financial and AGM records that the new (April 2026) Incorporated Societies Act regime expects your club to keep. Reporting in the exact Charities Services / Incorporated Societies Register format is on the roadmap. Use Rowing NZ's constitution template for the legal-text side; Row HQ covers the operational data side.
Set up your club free
Setup in 24 hours, data migration included. Free for clubs of up to 20 active members, no card required. Rowing NZ affiliation tracking, Privacy Act 2020 alignment, and UEMA-aligned communications available from day one.