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Two club management platforms aimed at different problems. Row HQ is built for rowing only. LoveAdmin is a UK-based general-purpose club platform. Here is how they line up if your US rowing program is evaluating both.
By Jason Burns, Founder, Row HQ · Updated
LoveAdmin is primarily UK-focused and most of its sport-club customers are British. US rowing programs typically compare Row HQ against tools like SquadDeck, RegattaCentral or generic team-management apps. We have kept the comparison below so US clubs evaluating LoveAdmin specifically can read it, but do check that LoveAdmin actively serves clubs in your country before making a decision.
LoveAdmin is general-purpose club management software covering many activities - gymnastics, dance, football, swim, drama and more. Row HQ is purpose-built for rowing only. If your program needs rowing-specific workflows (shell reservations with hull-type rules, drag-and-drop lineup builder, regatta entries, water-versus-erg practice tracking, coxswain handling), Row HQ fits naturally because the software speaks rowing. If you run a multi-sport athletic program and want one platform across rowing and other sports, LoveAdmin is the more flexible choice. Both handle the membership basics - dues, comms, attendance - well.
Where the two platforms differ on what rowing programs use day to day. Last verified against published feature pages on loveadmin.com.
| What you need | Row HQ | LoveAdmin |
|---|---|---|
| Built specifically for | Rowing programs only | Any sports or activity club |
| Shell reservations with hull-type rules | Yes - per-hull access rules and conflict blocking | Not advertised on their site |
| Drag-and-drop lineup builder | Yes - visual lineup builder with seat assignment | Not advertised |
| Regatta entry workflow | Yes - lineup sheets, payments, USRowing-friendly exports | Generic event management |
| Coxswain role first-class | Yes - cox is a recognized seat with its own permissions | Not advertised |
| Sweep vs sculling distinction | Yes - native to the data model | Not advertised |
| Water vs erg practice types | Yes - separate practice categories | Generic class and event types |
| Athlete CRM, online dues, comms | Yes | Yes |
| Email and SMS | Yes | Yes |
| Attendance tracking | Yes - one-tap from app | Yes |
| Athlete self-service app | Yes - white-labeled in your team's branding | Yes - JoinIn app |
| Pricing model | Per-club tiers, USD, public on our pricing page | See loveadmin.com for current pricing |
LoveAdmin is built for breadth. Their customer base spans gymnastics, dance, football, swim, drama and more. That breadth is the reason to look at them.
If your athletic department or community organization runs multiple sports under one roof, LoveAdmin keeps everything in a single platform. You get one CRM, one payment system and one communication tool covering every activity, and your back office only learns one piece of software.
LoveAdmin also leans on a managed onboarding model with a dedicated consultant and a "Step2Success" growth program. If you want a hands-on UK partner working on broader club growth alongside the software, that is part of their pitch.
And if you are already using LoveAdmin elsewhere in your athletic department, with athlete data, registrations and reporting living inside the platform, the cost of switching has to clear a real bar before it makes sense.
Row HQ is the right pick if rowing is the whole job. Most rowing programs are pure rowing - the shells and the lineup are the central daily workflow, not an afterthought next to ten other sports. We built the software to make that workflow fast.
Shells are a first-class entity in Row HQ. Each shell carries its hull type, access rules (who is signed off on a 1x or cleared for the V8+), conflict blocking and a maintenance log. Boat reservations are not bolted on top of a generic resource booker - they understand rowing.
Lineup selection works the same way. Coaches drag-and-drop athletes into seats, see attendance and side preference at a glance, save lineup templates and broadcast the final V8+/2V8+/JV/novice lineups in one tap. Coxswain is a real role with its own permissions and cox box assignment, not a custom field.
The language matches too. Practices are water or erg. Events are head races or regattas. Boats are sculling or sweep. Crews are eights, fours, quads, doubles, pairs, singles. We built the schema for programs that talk like rowing programs, so you do not have to translate every screen on the way past.
Multi-squad programs - varsity, JV, novice, masters, junior development - each get their own scheduling, attendance and lineup lists, with shared admin and shared finance. High school programs and collegiate boat clubs use the same primitives without contortions.
Six rowing-specific workflows where the platforms diverge.
Row HQ models each shell as a tracked asset with hull type, access rules and crew limits. Athletes see live availability, can only reserve shells they are signed off for, and conflicts are blocked automatically. Coaches see who is in which shell for any practice. See the boat reservation feature. LoveAdmin's booking engine is class and session focused - members book a session, not a specific shell with hull rules.
Drag athletes into a lineup, see availability, side preference (port vs starboard) and recent attendance side-by-side. Save lineup templates for repeat outings. Push the lineup to athletes and parents and see acknowledgments. See the coach tools. LoveAdmin focuses on player rosters and squad lists rather than seat-level lineup construction with rowing's side-and-seat constraints.
Athletes confirm practice in one tap from the app. Coaches see available rowers grouped by squad and practice type (water, erg, land). Weather call-offs reschedule the whole practice and notify everyone in seconds. See practice management. Both platforms cover attendance well; the difference is that Row HQ's practice model already understands water vs erg vs land, so reports separate them out.
Build a regatta entry, attach lineups, collect entry fees, generate USRowing-friendly exports and see acknowledgments in one place. Built around HOCR, IRA, NCAA and the EARC season. See event and regatta management. LoveAdmin has generic event management and ticketing - which works for many sports but does not know about a HOCR or Sprints entry.
Varsity, JV, novice, masters and junior development squads each get their own scheduling, lineup templates and attendance, while sharing one athlete database, one finance system and one comms surface. Coaches see only their squad. Both platforms support multi-group setups; Row HQ's default templates are pre-shaped for the common US rowing squad structure.
Athletes log in to a portal in your team's branding. They see upcoming practices, the shells they're assigned to, lineup sheets, dues and notifications. See the athlete portal or white-label setup. LoveAdmin's JoinIn app is a shared member app with their branding; check their site for current white-label options.
Free for programs of up to 20 active members, then flat monthly bands by member count - all public in US dollars on our pricing page. No setup fee, no card to start, and every feature on every band.
Pricing is bespoke and depends on club size, setup needs and chosen modules. Check loveadmin.com for a current quote. Note that LoveAdmin is UK-priced; if you are in the US, confirm currency, payment processor support (Stripe, ACH) and tax handling for your state.
Yes. Send us your athlete export, payment history and any class or practice data. We import everything into Row HQ as part of onboarding, so nothing is lost. Most programs are running fully on Row HQ within a week of handing over the data.
For rowing-specific workflows - shell reservations, lineup selection, regatta entries, coxswain handling, water vs erg practices - Row HQ goes deeper. For broader sports coverage (gymnastics, dance, football, drama, swim), Row HQ is not the right fit because we focus only on rowing. The general-purpose membership basics (CRM, dues, comms, attendance) are well covered in both.
Pricing depends on program size and the modules you need, and LoveAdmin's pricing is bespoke, so there is no clean headline answer. Row HQ is free for programs of up to 20 active members, then publishes flat monthly bands by member count in USD on the pricing page. Get a current quote from LoveAdmin and compare against ours for your specific program size.
Yes. Book a demo on the demo page and we will walk through your current workflow in Row HQ live - shell reservations, lineup selection, practices, dues, the lot. Or set up your program on the get-started page and try it for yourself - free for up to 20 active members, no card required.
Then LoveAdmin's broader sport coverage may suit you better, because you would get one platform across rowing and other activities. Row HQ is the wrong choice if you need to manage non-rowing activity in the same system. If rowing is the dominant activity and other sports are minor, some programs run Row HQ for rowing and a smaller tool for the rest.
Still weighing options? Read our comparison Row HQ vs spreadsheets if you are starting from a Google Sheet or Excel workbook. Or browse our best rowing club management software 2026 roundup for a wider view of the market.
Free for programs of up to 20 active members. No card. Bring your data and we will import it for you.
Use every Row HQ feature with your own shells, squads, and practices. No card. No time limit.
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