Summer Rowing in Newport Beach
Summer is one of the best times to get on the water at Newport Aquatic Center and one of the best times to find out if junior rowing is the right sport for your athlete. Whether your child has never touched an oar or is training to make Varsity in the fall, NAC’s summer rowing programs in Newport Beach are built to meet them where they are.
Why Summer Rowing Matters
For families new to the sport, summer is the lowest-pressure entry point into competitive rowing in Orange County. There’s not a lot of pressure just time on the Newport Back Bay learning the fundamentals of sweep rowing, boat safety, and teamwork. For returning athletes, summer training is where the real gains happen: base fitness, technique refinement, and the small-boat time that builds the boat feel varsity and novice crews rely on come September.
NAC’s Summer Rowing Pathway
Step 1: Learn to Row Camp This is where every rower starts. Athletes are introduced to the basics how to hold an oar, how a shell moves through the water, and the fundamentals of teamwork in a boat. No experience necessary, and no prior conditioning required.
Step 2: Repeat Learn to Row, or Move to Intermediate Conditioning Depending on where each athlete lands after their first camp, they either repeat Learn to Row to keep building fundamentals, or move on to Intermediate Conditioning to start building the fitness and technique base needed for competitive rowing.
Step 3: Tryout Week — Week of August 3rd Athletes ready to join the NAC Junior Rowing Team try out the week of August 3rd, which sets rosters ahead of the fall season.
Season Start: September 6th The NAC Junior Rowing Team’s season kicks off September 6th and runs through the Southwest Junior Rowing Championships in May.
Who Can Join
- Middle schoolers (7th & 8th grade): NAC’s non-competitive Middle School Rowing program runs year-round and is a great low-commitment way to try the sport over the summer.
- High schoolers: Summer camps are the entry point into the NAC Junior Rowing Team, which competes as Varsity Men, Varsity Women, and Novice crews throughout the school year.
Why Newport Beach Is a Great Place to Learn to Row
The Newport Back Bay offers calm, protected water that’s ideal for beginners no ocean chop, no heavy boat traffic, and enough space for both learn-to-row lessons and full crew practices to run side by side. It’s part of why NAC has been able to develop athletes who go on to row at the collegiate level, and why the program continues to grow every summer.
From Learn to Row to the Podium at Nationals
Summer camp isn’t just an introduction it’s a real starting point. One NAC athlete who completed Learn to Row in the summer of 2025 went on to earn a silver medal at the Youth National Championships in the U17 8+ just 9 months later. Stories like this are exactly why summer is such a powerful time to start: with the right coaching and a full season to build on, that first stroke in June can turn into a national podium finish.
Ready to Get on the Water?
Space in NAC’s summer rowing camps fills up fast. If your athlete is ready to try rowing for the first time, or to build toward a spot on the Junior Rowing Team this fall, reach out to the NAC office to get started.
Follow along with NAC Jr. Rowing all summer on Instagram @nac_rowing for camp updates, training highlights, and everything happening on the water.