Texas Crew is open to all academically-eligible, full time undergraduate students at the University of Texas. First-year graduate students may be able to compete under the American Collegiate Rowing Association rules. If you are not enrolled at UT, you are not eligible to compete. Prior rowing experience is not required, and neither is any athletic background. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and we welcome anyone that’s willing to work hard!

There are two types of team members: rowers and coxswains. Rowers are the athletes that hold the oar and power the boat down the race course. Coxswains sit at the stern (front) or the bow (back) of the boat, steer, call race strategies, and motivate the rowers, like an extension of the coach. If you’re interested in being a coxswain, let our head coxswains and coaches know at the info sessions and tryouts!

Yes! We hold a free two-week tryout period during the second and third week of both the fall and spring semesters (Monday - Friday). During this time, our coaches and varsity members teach the new recruits (aka novices) everything about the sport of rowing, from equipment to using the erg machine to physically taking strokes on the water! After the free two-week period, we hold a “signing day” event to celebrate novices officially joining the team.

Our tryouts are an opportunity for YOU to try Texas Crew! We want all of our novices to join; we do not use this period to cut people from the team. You must sign up to attend practices, and based on sign-ups, we will send out group assignments and their designated group leaders (returning team members) the night before. Practices will consist of a short warm-up run, then you will gather into your groups. There are two rotations: land and water. Rotation 1 will rotate between the ergs, a run, and a core workout, and Rotation 2 will be spent learning about equipment and commands, and eventually taking the boats out on the water!

We practice Monday to Friday 5:15AM to 7:15AM, with mandatory varsity practice and optional novice practice on Saturdays 6:00AM - 8:30AM at the Texas Rowing Center on Lady Bird Lake. We race at various regattas on weekends throughout the school year across the state and the country, from our home turf in Austin, to Waco, Oklahoma City, Oak Ridge, and Boston to name a few! We typically have at least three regattas every semester, but this varies based on our racing schedule.

If you cannot drive yourself to the Texas Rowing Center, we have carpools set up at Jester, Kinsolving, and West Campus (Waterloo) to take you to and from the lake.

Rowing is a full-body workout, and it relies heavily on legs and overall strength/endurance to power the boat across the finish line.

Races take place during several regattas throughout the year. The Fall and Spring semesters bring different racing opportunities. Fall races are longer distances, typically 4000m - 5000m, while spring races are a shorter distance (2000m). Fall consists of “head racing”, which means boats are sent down the course one behind the other on a certain time interval, and the goal is to pass the boats in front of you. Spring consists of side-by-side racing, so the goal is to cross the finish line first!

Yes! Texas Crew welcomes all team members regardless of gender, however, out members are separated into four squads: varsity men, varsity women, novice men, and novice women. Men and women row in separate boats, but we’re all part of Texas Crew!

Texas Crew is a student run and funded organization, thus our dues are relatively high at $960 a semester for our competitive team and $720 a semester for our non-competitive team. These dues are paid in four increments throughout each semester, and our Rent-a-Rower program provides opportunities for members to work to reduce their dues.

Yes! It is required for our members to be able to swim.