About Sammamish Rowing
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Sammamish Rowing Association is a not-for-profit community rowing organization, operating in partnership with King County Parks and the City of Redmond. SRA welcomes everyone, from first-time rowers to crews that compete and regardless of experience, skill, or financial need.
The only rowing organization on Seattle’s Eastside, SRA boasts exceptional coaching staff, first-class equipment and facilities, and extraordinary community. Open to all, SRA draws teens from over 25 area schools. It attracts adults who train before or after work, parents who |
practice while their kids are at school, and retirees seeking fitness and camaraderie.
SRA forms kids into young adults and develops youth and adult athletes who value community, personal discovery, and team success. Its youth and adult crews compete – and win – in local, regional, and national races. Rowing at SRA creates a powerful sense of accomplishment, bonds of friendship, and a commitment to a sport that can last a lifetime. Join SRA and discover your passion for rowing! |
A History of Sammamish Rowing Association
Usually a rowing club starts with some rowers and a coach, then some boats and oars, and eventually a boathouse. But with SRA, the boathouse came first. In 1994, Hod Fowler, a former collegiate rower, learned of an old boathouse in Marymoor Park. The boathouse was originally built by the Overlake School on the site of a former sewage-treatment plant. Overlake later abandoned the building, and Fowler discovered it was weeks away from being demolished as part of a toxic-site cleanup project in Marymoor Park.
Fowler quickly recruited a community of interested rowers. With support from King County, Fowler and a small number of co-founders established a non-profit dedicated to serving a broad range of members. They incorporated in 1995 and settled on the name Sammamish Rowing Association, choosing “association” over “club” to reflect the inclusive, non-elite, public nature of the organization. While the Marymoor site underwent rehabilitation, the new rowing organization spent its first year (1996) in a temporary one-bay boathouse in Idylwood Park. During that time, SRA grew to include about 40 rowers, spread across a 5 a.m. team, a mid-morning team, and a junior program.
After one year in Idylwood and following the completion of the Marymoor cleanup, SRA moved into the old Overlake boathouse in 1997. Volunteers replaced the rotted roof on the boathouse, and the 5 a.m. team started the generator each morning until a volunteer work party eventually ran power and water from the street. Nonetheless, nothing could change the damp, dark, and rickety nature of the building.
Fowler and the board knew SRA was one major storm away from losing its boathouse. SRA was continuing to grow, with steadily expanding juniors’ and masters’ programs. A new home was necessary, and conversations about building a new boathouse began.
Given the challenges of building in a wetland, SRA considered alternative locations such as Idylwood Park and Lake Sammamish State Park. After a five-year search the Marymoor site was recognized as the best location for the boathouse. SRA received a shoreline permit in 2005, allowing for construction in the vicinity of the Lake Sammamish shoreline, but that was not the end of the story.
In 2010, after years of setbacks, disappointments, and persistence, SRA was finally awarded a building permit and allowed to begin construction. Over the next six years, SRA built the new boathouse in phases as funding permitted. The organization began using the boat bays in 2013, the gym in 2015, and the offices, bathrooms, and locker rooms in 2016.
Throughout the entire process, King County Parks’ Community Partnership Grants program provided extraordinary moral and financial support. SRA’s own members were the largest source of capital over the years, and the taxpayers of Washington State funded a sizable grant that made the last phase of construction possible.
Today, with the new boathouse complete, nearly a thousand people come through the doors of Sammamish Rowing Association each year to experience Row for a Day events, Learn to Row classes, summer camps, independent rowing, and recreational, adaptive, and competitive rowing teams for teens and adults. View our facility here.
Remaining true to Hod Fowler’s original vision of a community organization open to all, Sammamish Rowing Association continues to provide rowing opportunities on a non-exclusive, first-come-first-served basis. Some 20 years after its founding, SRA honors and upholds its mission to spark and nurture a passion for the sport of rowing.
Fowler quickly recruited a community of interested rowers. With support from King County, Fowler and a small number of co-founders established a non-profit dedicated to serving a broad range of members. They incorporated in 1995 and settled on the name Sammamish Rowing Association, choosing “association” over “club” to reflect the inclusive, non-elite, public nature of the organization. While the Marymoor site underwent rehabilitation, the new rowing organization spent its first year (1996) in a temporary one-bay boathouse in Idylwood Park. During that time, SRA grew to include about 40 rowers, spread across a 5 a.m. team, a mid-morning team, and a junior program.
After one year in Idylwood and following the completion of the Marymoor cleanup, SRA moved into the old Overlake boathouse in 1997. Volunteers replaced the rotted roof on the boathouse, and the 5 a.m. team started the generator each morning until a volunteer work party eventually ran power and water from the street. Nonetheless, nothing could change the damp, dark, and rickety nature of the building.
Fowler and the board knew SRA was one major storm away from losing its boathouse. SRA was continuing to grow, with steadily expanding juniors’ and masters’ programs. A new home was necessary, and conversations about building a new boathouse began.
Given the challenges of building in a wetland, SRA considered alternative locations such as Idylwood Park and Lake Sammamish State Park. After a five-year search the Marymoor site was recognized as the best location for the boathouse. SRA received a shoreline permit in 2005, allowing for construction in the vicinity of the Lake Sammamish shoreline, but that was not the end of the story.
In 2010, after years of setbacks, disappointments, and persistence, SRA was finally awarded a building permit and allowed to begin construction. Over the next six years, SRA built the new boathouse in phases as funding permitted. The organization began using the boat bays in 2013, the gym in 2015, and the offices, bathrooms, and locker rooms in 2016.
Throughout the entire process, King County Parks’ Community Partnership Grants program provided extraordinary moral and financial support. SRA’s own members were the largest source of capital over the years, and the taxpayers of Washington State funded a sizable grant that made the last phase of construction possible.
Today, with the new boathouse complete, nearly a thousand people come through the doors of Sammamish Rowing Association each year to experience Row for a Day events, Learn to Row classes, summer camps, independent rowing, and recreational, adaptive, and competitive rowing teams for teens and adults. View our facility here.
Remaining true to Hod Fowler’s original vision of a community organization open to all, Sammamish Rowing Association continues to provide rowing opportunities on a non-exclusive, first-come-first-served basis. Some 20 years after its founding, SRA honors and upholds its mission to spark and nurture a passion for the sport of rowing.
SAMMAMISH OLD BOATHOUSE
The Hod Fowler Boathouse Facility
Our 12,000 sq. ft. facility was completed in the summer of 2016 thanks to generous donations from members, the local community, King County Parks, and the State of Washington.
This state-of-the-art facility provides a high-quality experience for all rowers who are a part of the Sammamish Rowing community. The boathouse features:
SRA has eight coaching launches and a secondary structure to store safety equipment and launches.
View the Hod Fowler Boathouse Historical Timeline
Learn more about Hod Fowler and the boathouse here.
This state-of-the-art facility provides a high-quality experience for all rowers who are a part of the Sammamish Rowing community. The boathouse features:
- Weight room
- Fitness facilities with 35 ergs, four Row Perfects, four stationary bikes
- Locker rooms, bathrooms, and showers
- Staff offices, a conference room, and coaches' lounge
- An extensive fleet of rowing shells (1x, 2x, 2-, 4x, 4+, and 8+).
SRA has eight coaching launches and a secondary structure to store safety equipment and launches.
View the Hod Fowler Boathouse Historical Timeline
Learn more about Hod Fowler and the boathouse here.
Boat Launch
The Sammamish Rowing Association dock is a public boat launch within Marymoor Park. Per county ordinance, the quarter-mile path from the parking lot to the dock is not accessible to vehicles. Users of the boat launch can park in the lot and must walk to the dock and can carry or manually tow a kayak, canoe, etc.
Anyone who parks in the lot must pay a $1 parking fee to help finance King County Parks. A pay kiosk is located near the signboard in the south lot. Drivers are advised to lock their vehicles and remove any valuables.
Anyone who parks in the lot must pay a $1 parking fee to help finance King County Parks. A pay kiosk is located near the signboard in the south lot. Drivers are advised to lock their vehicles and remove any valuables.
