Row with us across Europe 🚣♀️
Ever wondered how gamified indoor rowing keeps women 50+ motivated?
Is your club ready to welcome more women over 50 to rowing? Join the ROWACT network.
ROWACT is a European project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, that brings women over 50 to rowing for health, wellbeing and friendship. Four partners in Italy, Portugal and Slovenia have built and tested a complete training model: indoor, on the water and online.
Now we want to share it. Any rowing club in Europe can join our network, use our materials for free and become part of a growing community of clubs that open their doors to women 50+.
- 🇮🇹 Rowing4Fun ASD – Italy (coordinator)
- 🇵🇹 Lusófona University – Porto University Centre – Portugal
- 🇵🇹 Clube Fluvial Portuense – Portugal
- 🇸🇮 VK Piran – Slovenia
What your club gets
| What it is | Why it helps your club | |
|---|---|---|
| 📋 Indoor training cards download here |
20 ready-to-use sessions on the rowing machine, across 5 dimensions (technique, endurance, intervals, strength, team challenges), each at 3 levels | Your coaches can start a group programme from day one, with no planning needed |
| 🚣 Land and water training plans | Weekly plans with strength, easy endurance, intervals and boat sessions, each in an Advanced and a Basic version | A clear progression from the indoor season to the boat |
| 🧘 Stretching videos | Online sessions led by a physiotherapist, available on YouTube (ROWACT League TV) | Mobility and injury prevention for your rowers, at home |
| 📊 RPE effort form | A simple online form to rate effort from 1 to 10 after every session | Your coaches see how each woman responds and can adjust the intensity |
| 🎓 Coach training materials | Methodology developed with Lusófona University on rowing for women 50+ | Confident, inclusive coaching for a new target group |
| 🌐 Visibility | Your club featured on rowact.eu and on the ROWACT social channels | New members and a European profile for your club |
| 🤝 Community | Exchange with clubs in other countries, shared events and the ROWACT League of ambassadors | Ideas, motivation and new friendships across Europe |
All materials are available in English, with versions in Italian, Portuguese and Slovenian [check which languages are available].
Who can join
The network is open to:
- rowing clubs and associations, of any size and in any European country;
- sports centres and gyms with rowing machines, even without boats;
- coastal, river and lake clubs alike.
No previous experience with women 50+ is needed: the ROWACT model is designed to help you start.
What we ask
Joining is free. In return, we ask member clubs to:
- Offer at least one regular activity for women over 50, indoor or on the water, using the ROWACT materials.
- Name a contact person in the club, coach or volunteer, who keeps in touch with the network.
- Share effort data through the RPE form, anonymously, to help us measure the impact of the programme.
- Tell your story: share photos, videos and news with the hashtag #ROWACT and tag the project, with the participants’ consent.
- Respect the EU visibility rules when you use ROWACT materials: project logo and “Co-funded by the European Union” emblem.
How to join
- Fill in the form with your club’s details and contact person [LINK-FORM].
- Meet the team: we organise a short online call to present the materials and answer your questions.
- Get the toolkit: you receive the training cards, plans, RPE form and visibility kit.
- Start rowing: launch your first group and appear on the ROWACT network map on rowact.eu.
👉 Join the network
Questions? Write to us at mail@rowact.eu or follow us on Instagram @rowact_league and YouTube ROWACT League TV.
FAQ
Does it cost anything to join? No. Joining the network and using the ROWACT materials is free.
Do we need boats? No. You can start with rowing machines only: the 20 indoor cards are a complete programme. Boat sessions can follow when you are ready.
Our coaches have never worked with women over 50. Is that a problem? Not at all. The training cards come in three levels, and the coach materials explain how to adapt sessions, prevent injuries and measure effort.
Can clubs outside the European Union join? Yes, any European club is welcome. [check with the consortium]
What happens when the project ends? ROWACT runs until November 2027, but the materials and the network are designed to last. Member clubs keep using the toolkit and stay connected through the ROWACT channels.
ROWACT is co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme (Grant 101238389). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. your effort, and see how far you can go – all the way to the coastal camp in Piran.