Rowing Club Risk Assessment Template
A water-specific risk assessment written for rowing programs, not adapted from a generic sports form. Download the PDF, walk your stretch of river or lake with it, and adapt every line to your club. Free, no email address required.
What should a rowing club risk assessment cover?
A rowing risk assessment should cover the water (cold water immersion, capsize, current, dams, locks and obstructions), traffic (powerboats and other craft, the local traffic pattern, blind bends), conditions (darkness, fog, wind, lightning, heat), people (swim ability, medical conditions, juniors and supervision ratios) and land-side hazards (carrying boats, slings, trailers and slick docks or ramps). Each hazard gets a likelihood score, a severity score and named controls, reviewed at least annually and after any incident. US programs should check their finished assessment against USRowing's safety guidelines - and remember that cold-water risk on rivers and lakes in the Northeast and Midwest runs well into spring.
Download the template
Download PDFFree. No email, no watermark. Written with USRowing's safety guidelines in mind.
How to use it
-
1
Walk your water. Do the assessment on your actual stretch - every program's hazards are different. A low-head dam half a mile downstream changes everything.
-
2
Score honestly. Likelihood (1-5) times severity (1-5) gives each hazard a risk rating out of 25. Anything above 15 needs a control that reduces it before crews launch.
-
3
Name the controls and the owner. "Be careful" is not a control. "No practices when the river gauge is above the club's posted limit, checked by the coach on duty before launching" is.
-
4
Set the review date. Annually as a minimum, plus after every incident or near miss, and whenever your circumstances change - new water, new boat types, a new junior intake.
The hazards in the template
The PDF includes a scored row for each of these, with typical controls filled in as a starting point. Adapt every one to your own water and circumstances.
| Hazard | Who is at risk | Example controls in the template |
|---|---|---|
| Cold water immersion | All rowers, especially fall through spring in northern states | Cold-water briefing each fall, flip test for new members, layered clothing guidance, buddy-boat rules in winter |
| Capsize and swim failure | Scullers, novices, juniors | Swim test on joining, flip test before single sculling, launch coverage for novice practices |
| Collision with craft or obstruction | All crews | Local traffic pattern taught at orientation, circulation map posted in the boathouse, lights and lookout rules |
| Dams, locks and hazards downstream | All crews | Hard limits marked on the club water map, river-stage boards, no-go zones covered with every new member |
| Darkness and poor visibility | Early morning and winter crews | Bow and stern lights required, high-visibility gear, restricted practices in fog |
| Weather: wind, lightning, heat | All rowers and coaches | Named decision-maker for canceling, lightning 30-30 rule, heat guidance for juniors |
| Medical emergency afloat | All rowers | Medical forms and waivers on file, emergency contacts accessible to coaches, launch carrying a throw rope and phone |
| Carrying boats, slings and trailers | All members, land side | Lifting technique at orientation, minimum hands per boat class, trailer loading rules |
| Juniors and vulnerable adults | Junior squads | Safeguarding policy, SafeSport-compliant background screening for coaches, supervision ratios, parental consent and waiver records |
This template is a starting point, not a completed assessment. Your club is responsible for assessing its own water, activities and people. US programs should check the finished document against USRowing's safety guidelines, their insurer's requirements and any rules that apply to their own waterway.
The risk assessment is a document. The controls are data.
Half the controls in a rowing risk assessment are really record-keeping: who has passed a flip test, whose swim test is on file, which members have medical flags, whether the launch driver's certification is current, which boat is out and who is in it. That is exactly what Row HQ keeps live - member records, certifications, emergency contacts and boat logs, filled in once and always current. Write the risk assessment with this template; run the controls in Row HQ; spend the time you save on the water. There is also a free interactive risk assessment tool if you want a guided version.
Set up your club freeFree for programs of up to 20 athletes.
Risk assessment FAQs
Does a rowing club need a risk assessment?
Yes, in practice. A club that puts people on the water owes them a duty of care, and a written, current risk assessment is the clearest evidence that the club has thought about its hazards and acted on them. Insurers commonly expect one - some ask to see it before writing or renewing coverage - and USRowing's safety expectations for member organizations point the same way. Waivers matter in US club paperwork, but a waiver is not a substitute for actually managing the risks. Every rowing program should have a current assessment on file.
How often should the risk assessment be reviewed?
At least once a year, and immediately after any incident or near miss, any change to your water (new docks, changed current, construction), or any change to your activities such as starting a junior program or open-water rows. Put the review date on the document itself and name the person responsible.
Who should write the club risk assessment?
Someone who knows the water and the program - typically the club safety officer, with input from coaches and the board. It should not be written by one person at a desk: walk the site, row the stretch, and involve the people who coach on it. The board should formally adopt the finished document so responsibility is clear.
How does this template relate to USRowing's safety guidelines?
USRowing publishes safety guidelines for its member organizations, covering topics from cold water and capsize to launch safety and safeguarding. They are guidance rather than a fill-in document, so clubs still need to produce their own risk assessment. This template gives you that document structure with rowing-specific hazards pre-loaded; sense-check the finished assessment against USRowing's current guidance and anything your insurer requires.
Related
Pair this with the incident report form - the risk assessment says what might happen, the incident log tells you what actually does. There is also a guided interactive rowing risk assessment tool and the full templates library.