About the Des Moines Rowing Club
The Des Moines Rowing Club is a nonprofit corporation created to promote the
sport of rowing in the Central Iowa area. The club was founded in 1983 and
hosted its first regatta that year. It now consists of around 150 members. About
70 percent of the members are active rowers, most of whom row from April through
October. The remaining members are interested and supportive rowing enthusiasts.
Though most members live in the Des Moines metropolitan area, the club does
include rowers from Ames, Indianola, Marshalltown and other surrounding
communities.
Our club membership ranges in age from teenagers (juniors) to adults (masters) in
their seventies. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization that is governed by a
volunteer board. On a voluntary basis, every summer we run a novice or learn-to-row
program for anyone in the Des Moines community. We also host the Head of the Des
Moines Regatta every September and sometimes the rowing competition for the Iowa
Games in the summer. Our main boathouse is located near the Birdland Marina on the
Des Moines River. We operate our novice program and do some sculling at Gray’s Lake.
Since 1983, the Des Moines Rowing Club has hosted the Head of the Des Moines Regatta
on the Des Moines River. One of the oldest and biggest regattas in the Midwest, this
three-mile race upstream usually attracts over 30 collegiate or club crews with over
500 competitors from all over the region. On the last Saturday of September, competitors
pick from over 50 races to row from the Botanical Center to Prospect Park. This event
has been named to be a national standard Regatta by the United States Rowing
Association’s Judge Referee Corps.
The Rowing Club is a registered member of the United States Rowing Association (USRA).
The USRA is the national governing body of the sport. The club is governed by a
board of directors, which is elected by the club membership.
Board of Directors
The 12 directors each serve for two years, with six members rolling to the board each January.
Besides four board members serving as president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary,
other directors take on key club responsibilities as indicated below:
| 2010 Board of Directors |
| President |
Kristofer Vokes |
Contact |
| Vice President |
Jim Elliott |
Contact |
| Secretary |
Luann Beckel |
Contact |
| Treasurer |
Dan Gordon |
Contact |
| Marketing Director |
Dawn Budd |
Contact |
| Equipment Director |
Becky Ford |
Contact |
| Volunteer Director |
Unfilled |
Contact |
| Regatta Directors |
Gary Nell |
Contact |
| Risk & Safety Director |
Katherine Hauser |
Contact |
| Communications Director |
Lauren Luftman |
Contact |
| Novice & Juniors Director |
Nick Clark |
Contact |
| Boat Formation Director |
Katherine Hauser |
Contact |
Boathouse Location
History of the Rowing Club
Click here to look at key events in the rowing club's history.