Events

Check out our upcoming events!

Kenora Rowing Club hosts 2-3 regattas per year, seeing hundreds of athletes from Canada and the United States travel to Rabbit Lake to compete. The events could not happen without the hard work of our enthusiastic volunteers, whether current or former rowers, or no experience with the sport whatsoever! These events are a great way for high school students to receive their community service hours for graduation. See our Volunteer Roles (below, on this page) for more information on role descriptions.

Manitoba Rowdown

late June/early July

The Mantario Rowdown is a semi-annual, informal race for novices to get a feel for racing in a regatta. The Manitoba Rowing Association clubs (Kenora, Winnipeg, Pinawa) get their athletes together at Rabbit Lake for a one-day rowdown of 1000 metres. Clubs compete for the “Lipton Cup-A-Soup” trophies and individual race winners have an opportunity to donate their Lipton Cup a Soup prizes back to a local shelter.

Tops and Bottoms

Mid to Late July

Tops & Bottoms is a one-day regatta for juniors and masters athletes, which our Club has hosted for nearly 25 years. The regatta was hosted by Winnipeg Rowing Club in 2024, but at Kenora Rowing Club’s venue on Rabbit Lake. The race sees rowers from 8-10 Canadian and US clubs come to Kenora. Masters and Open categories race 1000m, juniors race 2000m.

NWIRA Championship Regatta

Mid August

The Kenora Rowing Club is a member of the North West International Rowing Association (NWIRA). Kenora hosts the two-day NWIRA Championship Regatta on a regular basis. The Championship Regatta has 300-400 athletes from 14 clubs from Canada and the mid-west US.

Regatta Volunteer Roles

Most positions are outdoor positions. Please bring rain gear, sun hat, sun screen, water, snack and layered clothing for predicted temperatures over your shift. You could also bring a bathing suit/towel. Sign in with the volunteer coordinator at the clubhouse on your arrival.

If you are interested in Volunteering at a KRC regatta, please send us an email at rowkenora@gmail.com

Your role is to announce first call and second call of each event to notify rowers that it is their turn to launch. You are located on the tarmac in front of the rowing club.
Your role is to provide a lane marker and complete crew check-ins as they prepare to launch and record that they have launched on the heat sheet. You communicate with the umpires via two-way radios about any last-minute scratches, late to launch or other situations affecting the starting of a subsequent race. You are located on the tarmac in front of the rowing club.
Your role is to sign in volunteers as they arrive, provide them with their volunteer shirt and remind them to bring water, food, washrooms. You are located inside, or just outside, the rowing club.
Your role is to direct departing crews onto the dock when there is room and to have them quickly and efficiently get their oars on the boat and launch, allowing room for the next crew. You are located near the outgoing dock in front of the rowing club.
Item description
The start assistant will work directly under the supervision of the start umpire. They are responsible for running the computer software Regatta Master timing program. Each race is called up from the regatta data and the mouse is clicked when the race starts. This then is confirmed and sent to the cloud. Software training is provided. You must be able to climb a 4-foot ladder onto the raised start platform. You are on a dock and not on shore so be sure to use the restroom before leaving the club house. You will be taken down the lake in a boat.
The role is for someone tech savvy to assist the Results Coordinator in managing Regatta Master and helping to distribute the QR code for registrants to find their results.
You are under the direction of the Finish Line umpire. Your role will be to do one of the following:
○ operate the computer/tablet utilizing the Regatta Master software, calling up the correct race, recording by mouse click/tap as each boat crosses the line, recording order of finish, and after this information is confirmed by the umpire pushing it to the cloud.
○ hand timing utilizing a printable stop-watch as each boat crosses the line
○ operating flag as each crew crosses the line
○ operating horn as each crew crosses the line
○ recording order of finish as each crew crosses the line
You are on a pontoon boat or dock and not on shore so be sure to use the restroom before leaving the club house. You will be taken down the lake by shuttle boat.
Determine concession menu and pricing. Shop for groceries and organize concession food prep
Interestingly, candy bags seemed to be a popular addition to the concession (who knew?)
Working under the Head of Concession, your role is to sell food, drinks, and merchandise or banquet tickets to athletes, coaches and other attendees. You will be working inside the rowing club boathouse.
Work with Chief Umpire and communicate with umpires re accommodation and meals. Ensure umpires have accommodation list/location/information. Shop for groceries and organize umpire meals food prep.
Ensure there is food for volunteers and drinks – could be done in association with concession
Candy bags for the boat holders are a MUST
The starting line boat holder works directly under the supervision of the Aligner Umpire. You will receive direction from the aligner through a radio with an earpiece. You will be laying down on a dock (on your stomach) reaching out in front of you to physically hold the boat in your lane in place for approximately 4 minutes each race. When the start Umpire starts the race, you let go of the boat and rest until the next boats approach the start. You are on a dock and not on shore so be sure to use the restroom before leaving the club house. You will be taken down the lake in a shuttle boat.
The role of garbage and recycling personnel is to monitor garbage and recycling bins in and outside the boathouse, empty when full, replace full bags with new bags This volunteer will also monitor inside and outside washrooms’ soap or hand sanitizer, paper towel and toilet paper supplies and replace when needed and let the Volunteer Coordinator know if supplies are running low.
The clean up crew starts at the end of the regatta day. The role of the clean up crew is to gather garbage and recycling, ensure that the area outside the boathouse, the boat bays inside the boathouse, the bathroom, and club room and kitchen are clean.
This person is a generic volunteer who is willing or interested to fill in as necessary.

Boat Drivers and Boat Personnel Volunteers

Please see descriptions of individual roles below. Boat Drivers must ensure your assigned boat is filled with gas at the beginning and end of their shift. Please dock your aluminum boat at the docks parallel to the shore. Please ensure you have a two-way radio and a megaphone in your boat. You will use a sign-in sheet in the club house to sign-out and return your radio each shift. You will drive your boat slowly, not making a wake. You must keep your boat out of the way of rowing shells moving on the lake - remember they can’t see you, but you can see them.

This role requires a Pleasure Craft Operator Card or American equivalent. Shuttle boat drivers will drive volunteers (boat holders and finish line timers). The shuttle boat drivers will also be available for the Chief Umpire, media and others on an as-needed basis. The shuttle boat drivers will ensure their assigned boat is filled with gas at the beginning and end of their shift. KRC owns 2 aluminum Smokercraft-brand boats with a rear tiller drive 20 hp motor. Shuttle boats are parked at the docks parallel to the shore, near the incoming dock.
This role requires a Pleasure Craft Operator Card or American equivalent. You will be driving a tiller steer zodiac-style boat. You will have an assistant/spotter in your boat so that you can always be aware of traffic fore and aft. You will be assigned the 0-1000m or 1000-2000 m section of the course to patrol. PLEASE BE SURE YOU HAVE A RADIO AND MEGAPHONE IN YOUR BOAT. You will pick up your radio and megaphone in the clubroom and sign them out on the sheet and return them when you are done and sign them back in. You will drive your boat slowly, not making wake except in responding to an emergency. The umpire closest to an emergency will call for assistance on the radio. Please see laminated card in your boat for examples of the specific language you will hear over the radio in an emergency. The role of the safety boat along with responding to emergencies is to enforce the direction of traffic in the warm-up or cool down area. You should keep your boat near the warm-up or cool down section you are patrolling. The zodiac safety boats are parked at the docks parallel to the shore, adjacent to the incoming dock.
You may need to rescue a rower(s) from the water in the event a boat capsizes. First Aid training would be a benefit, but is not required for this position. It is your responsibility along with the boat driver to constantly be aware of traffic fore and aft. The umpire closest to an emergency will call for assistance on the two-way radio. Please see laminated card in your boat for examples of the specific language you will hear over the radio in an emergency. The role of the safety boat along with responding to emergencies is to enforce the direction of traffic in the warm up or cool down area. You should keep your boat near the warm-up or cool down section you are patrolling.
This role requires a Pleasure Craft Operator Card or American equivalent. The umpire boat driver works directly under the supervision of the umpire in your boat. You will drive a steering wheeled wakeless launch to follow races down the course at the speed and direction indicated by your umpire. After following the race, you will drive expediently back to the start, up the centre lanes of the course. As you approach the next race coming down the course, you kill your speed, allowing the wash to come into your stern, then turn 90 degrees to the course and slowly drive off the course. After the race has passed, you re-enter the course and drive up to the start. Do not drive your boat behind the start tower unless explicitly instructed as the cables holding the course buoys are very shallow. you will dock at the wooden docks.
The gas jockey ensures all gas jerry cans at the boathouse are full of gas prior to the regatta and re-filled at the end of the day. The gas jockey helps boat drivers with re-fueling at shift changes.