About us

Y Rowing Club was founded in 1910 to provide rowing opportunities for women and while the Centre now conducts programs for both sexes, membership is still open only to women. The ‘Y’ has been at the forefront in popularising rowing for women. Its members were the first to represent Australia at World Championships and a Lightweight Four recorded Australian women’s first success at international level in 1979.

A detailed history of the club can be downloaded here (1.6 Mb).

The two-bay boathouse and clubrooms, built in 1996, house a well-maintained modern fleet of 30 boats. There is a compact gym with an a weights unit, free weights and five Concept Rowing ergos.

In 2018 the Y Rowing Club ended it’s formal association with the YWCA and become an independent organisation.

Child Safe Standards

The Y Rowing Club has adopted Rowing Victoria’s Child Safe Policy.

The safety of all children at our club is important to us. All coaches and senior club members hold current Working with Children checks.

Watch us in action

In 1965 British Pathé produced a short segment featuring the club. It’s called Keep warm by Rowing.