Mark your calendar and visit with us on Sunday, October 5th, 2025 for the 46th running of the Textile River Regatta!  This is the perfect event to take in the combination of rowing and fall foliage on the scenic Merrimack River in Lowell, MA.

For more information visit the regatta website at www.textileriverregatta.org.

The Merrimac River Rowing Association (MRRA) will be ON THE WATER starting in April. We have Learn To Row programs starting in June with sign-ups happening now.

• Learn To Row - SCULLING:  Meets on Tues and Thurs from 6:30 to 8:30pm, with two Saturday classes. No experience necessary. Sculling is your best option for rowing by yourself in a single or with others in small groups.  Each rower in a sculling boat holds two oars.  >> More Information
• Learn To Row - SWEEP: Monday and Wednesday, June and July (twelve sessions over six consecutive weeks).  No experience necessary.  This is team-oriented rowing in sweep boats that seat four or eight rowers with one oar each.  >> More Information
• Masters Sweep:  Monday and Wednesday evenings starting in mid-May, 6pm - 8pm.  Some prior sweep experience (high school, collegiate, or masters) is expected. >> More Information
• Open Sweep: TBD.  If there is sufficient interest, MRRA typically supports an Open Sweep team of post-collegiate rowers who get together two or three times per week with coached or self-directed practices.  There is usally an intent to race in at least a few regional regattas during the summer and fall rowing seasons. >> More Information

Visit the links above for more details about the program schedules and how to sign up.

We row out of the UMass/Lowell Bellegarde Boathouse 500 Pawtucket Blvd, Lowell MA.  For more information on our programs, start at the Programs and Fees page on our website.  For more info, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Our dear friend Jim Polcari is battling serious lung cancer and needs our emotional and more importantly financial support. Please plan to join us on November 21st at a fundraiser for Jim and his young family. Follow the link below to the MRRA website where you can buy tickets or make a donation. If you have an auction or raffle item to donate, please contact Peg Landry at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For more information and to RSVP or make a donation, please visit http://www.merrimackrowing.org/pulling-for-polcari.

Good luck to our rowers who will be competing in the 51st Head of the Charles Regatta on October 17th and 18th.  Please come cheer on your teammates - pick a bridge or a nice embankment and give them your encouragement!

On Saturday, we have rowers in Events 3, 5, 13, 16, 17, 21 and 23. For possibly the first time ever, we have just as many sweep boats competing as scullers!

On Sunday we have event 32a in Mens Club 1X.

The Merrimac River Rowing Association has approved the support of BOSTON 2024 and Olympic Rowing in Lowell on the Merrimack River. 

We are proud of our beautiful river, fabulous spectator viewing area and plentiful parking.  We look forward to working with the USOC, USRowing and the local BOSTON 2024 organizing committee to ensure that the rowing venue is the best in the world!

To place your order:  Use the PRINT icon above to print this page.  Then write your order on the back of the page; include your Name, Item(s), Size(s) and Quantities. Include a check with the page and leave it at the desk for Bronwyn or Dottie.   Quantities may be limited.

Vest.  Atlantic Blue shown- Also Available in Black Vests: Ladies S-M-L- XL Men's S-M-L-XL $60	Long Sleeve Performance. Silver: $19.50 Men's or Women's S-M-L-XL
Back view on top, front view below. Blue Lagoon Fitness Tee $30.00 these are thick with Poly Blue Lagoon and Lime Shock cotton $18.00 Sizing: Men's and Women's S-M-L-XL   MRRA Hats. $15 Bumper Stickers. $ 2	Unisex Jacket. S-M-L-XL $55.00

The Merrimac River Rowing Association will be running several programs this summer -- please sign up on the left under Membership Application and also Programs & Fees:        Learn to Scull will start at the end of May and run for 4 weeks (2 rows/week) and Learn to Row Sweep will start mid-June and run for 4 weeks.  The Learn to Row Sweep is a special introductory price of $99 !!   Come row with us on Saturday June 7th for National Learn to Row day and sign up then!!

MRRA regular club meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7pm.

During the winter, we will be meeting at the Chelmsford Police Station, training room.

* please do not park in the visitor spaces; park along the street and in the cul de sac

* winter meetings are Jan 14th, Feb 11th, March 11th

Please plan to attend the April meeting.    Safety video will be shown around 6:20pm.  Meeting starts at 7pm.  Primary agenda item is to approve the budget for 2013.  See the presentation under the March meeting minutes and be prepared, since this will not be reveiwed again.   Other items as needed. 

Congratulations to the MRRA Open Sweep (fondly referred to as the Thoroughbreds) for winning Gold in the 2- and 4- and also Bronze in the 4+.  Commentary from Mike below, and link to their blog

4- ::  We were neck and neck the whole way down the course with the USRowing Dev Camp Wisconsin boat, and the rest of the field was not far behind. In the final strokes we put together a sprint to take gold. The racing was tight in the heats too, we had to fight our way out of the straight 4 heat to make it into the final after a bad start. We all agreed the 4- heat and final were the best races we've ever been in.

Junior Sweep Camp for rising High School age students starts June 26th.  if you have trouble registering on the website, please just go to the boathouse at 7:45am to register. The program runs from 8am to 10am Tues - Wed - Thurs each week.  No rowing week of July 2nd.  contact Denise Bergeron for more info at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The MRRA Masters Sweep program will start up on Monday afternoon, May 7th at 5:30pm.   We will run Mondays/Wednesdays at that time for 8 weeks and a total of 16 sessions.   Coach Dan Hershey will guide us for the first week or two, then Coach James Gilchrest will take over for the duration of the season into the fall.   Boat class is yet to be determined;  we'll know better after we see how many have signed up.   Ideally, we'll have sufficient numbers to run an 8 and a 4+, and we also have a 2- available for the program.

The MSWEEP season is broken into three programs, each costs $160 for 16 sessions.

Here's how to sign up for "MSWEEP":

• If you are a returning member from last year, log in to your MRRA account, go to My Membership, then "choices" and choose "MSWEEP1".   You can optionally sign up for MSWEEP2 and MSWEEP3 if you know you want to be part of all three programs this season, but you don't need to pay for all three at once.
• If you are not yet a member, create a Membership Application.   After you submit your application, you can then login to your account and make your program choices.
• NOTE:  You must be a member to be part of MSWEEP, so when making your choices, be sure to choose "MEMBERSHIP" in addition to MSWEEP1.
• NOTE:  If you are eligible to scull with the MRRA (you have passed the boat captain's test), you are eligible to sign up for "off peak sculling" for $100 which allows you to take out singles and doubles during off-peak hours.   Choose the "LOGBOOKOS" option for $100.  (For unrestricted sculling, you can choose the standard LOGBOOK program for $250).

Finally, complete your paperwork.   Bring a check and your paperwork to the first session on Monday May 7th, and do your administrator a favor by enclosing all of your paperwork in a single envelope with your name on it.  Checks should be made out to "MRRA".   At minimum, you will need to e-sign your membership application online, have a valid Swim Certificate on file, and complete the UML boathouse application.  For the complete list of required paperwork, visit the "billing" tab from My Membership.

Visit the MRRA Masters Sweep web page for more information.  If you have any questions, please write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

See you on the 7th at the boathouse at 5:30pm sharp.  

During this month, the MRRA is starting up several different rowing programs for all skill levels - and there are still seats available.

• Learn To Scull - the June program has started, but there are still openings in the July program.  No experience required - you'll be introduced to the art of sculling using our fleet of stable boats and receive professional coaching to advance your skills as far as you like. 
• Learn To Sweep - for the more team-oriented person, you'll learn to row the "big boats" - fours and eights - with professional coaching to teach you the basics and advance your skills during this six week program.  No experience necessary.  If you're a college or high school coxswain and want to hone your boat management skills, this would be an excellent way to stay engaged with the sport before you start back up in the fall.  Starts June 20th.
• Masters Sweep - for the rower with previous experience, this sweep program is open to anyone 18 or older.   Perhaps you rowed in college, or you've graduated but want to stay engaged in the sport.  In this program, we'll be doing more drills and longer pieces, providing a team atmosphere that is more focused on boat speed.  Depending on the turnout, we may train one or two boats for some racing in the early fall.  Starts June 20th.
• Open Sweep - the competitive MRRA sweep boats are pretty full at this point.   But if you're a collegiate or masters rower and want to keep the level of your competitive training high, contact us to see if there may be short-term openings, or it's possible a new boat will be forming.

One way or another, if you want to row and live in the Lowell, MA area, the MRRA has a program for you.  Visit the program pages linked above for more information, or write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have any questions.

To register for any program, login with your account, go to My Membership and update your program Choices.