A few weeks ago, I opened an email from my rowing club detailing nearly £5,000 worth of damage in one month. It was all from a relatively small handful of incidents at a relatively small club. This is enough to buy a second‑hand car, a new boat, or replace a fleet of cox boxes. Instead, it was being funnelled into repairs and replacements.
Rowing is naturally an expensive sport. But, as someone who works in sourcing and supply chains, I do sometimes wonder if there is a way that, within rowing, we could be spending better.
What rowing clubs actually spend
Let’s start with the obvious: boats are expensive.
A new single scull can cost around £3,500, while a brand‑new eight can climb to £24,000, according to the Swift Racing price list from RowingCentreUK. This is more than most people’s first car, so it’s clear to see how the bills stack up.
But the boat bay is only the beginning. Clubs also need boat appliances (cox boxes, speakers, launches), maintenance, electricity, heating, and in some cases food and beverage. When you add it all up, it becomes clear why rowing still carries the label of one of the more pricey sports. There are so many administrative costs required to keep things running. And it raises a fair question: are clubs managing their money as effectively as they could?
Damage diaries: the rising cost of boat repairs
As a small rower, I’m often placed in the bow seat – prime position for collecting branches, buoys, and the occasional surprise riverbank. Rowing on a tidal stretch of the Thames adds another layer of unpredictability; the landscape shifts with every tide, and so does the risk.
I’ve also had the misfortune of coxing in the dark and colliding with an unlit moored boat. There are no exact figures on what damages cost but an example of some repairs are:
- New megaphones: £2,000
- A damaged launch: £600
- A snapped blade £200
And that’s just one snapshot. While there’s no centralised data on annual damage costs across UK rowing, British Rowing requires clubs to hold at least £10 million in liability cover, which gives you a sense of the scale of risk involved.
Buying better
Most rowing clubs buy independently. Larger institutions like Thames or Leander may have dedicated boatpeople who can negotiate better deals, but even then, each club is essentially acting alone. From a procurement perspective, this is inefficient. It begs the question: is there a better way of doing things?
One such example is a rowing consortium, where rowing clubs pool together to negotiate contracts on a group level. The model for this already exists in the form of the Golf Management Group (GMG), a purchasing alliance that allows golf clubs to pool their buying power and secure better pricing on everything from machinery to utilities. The real benefits are through the group buying power of the overheads. GMG helps clubs reduce costs on electricity, waste management, fuel, and other operational essentials. Imagine rowing clubs doing the same: pooling their spend on power, insurance, or safety equipment to unlock better rates. Suddenly, the idea of a rowing consortium doesn’t seem far‑fetched.
Of course, rowing clubs don’t spend anywhere near as much as golf clubs, which means a rowing‑only purchasing alliance might struggle to gain traction, unless every club joined at once. But there’s another route: partnering with an existing multi‑sport consortium, just as the Lawn Tennis Association has done with GMG. Rowing could align with golf, tennis, or other facility‑based sports to create a shared buying group. Clubs would retain autonomy while benefiting from collective bargaining power. This should lead to lower operational costs, more predictable budgeting, and more money available for what actually matters – coaching, equipment, and growing the sport.
Procurement isn’t just about saving money. It’s about sustainability, accessibility, and building a smarter sporting culture. If rowing wants to grow – especially among adults, late starters, and those outside traditional pathways – we need to think beyond the boat bay. Clubs should be able to collaborate, share knowledge, and innovate. And they should also be in a position to buy better.
