Atomic Rowing is comprised of our Junior and Adult Coached Programs at Oak Ridge Rowing Association. Oak Ridge Rowing Association (ORRA) is the club and venue which oversees all regatta, spring training, and boathouse operations. ORRA is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1978 whose mission is to promote the sport of rowing in Oak Ridge and East Tennessee.
All middle school and high school athletes are considered ‘Junior’ or ‘Youth’ athletes. The Development squad is the introductory team for all new rowers in grades 6-12 (ages 13 – 19). Rowers with no experience begin on this team. In some instances, the Varsity coach will invite high performing first-year rowers to join the Varsity for some practices and races or permanently. The Atomic Varsity squad is our high performance racing team and is generally open to rowers who have completed at least one year on the Development squad.
No previous experience is necessary! This is truly a unique and fair opportunity to learn a new sport. We will teach you everything you need to know.
There are 2 competitive seasons during the academic year: Fall and Spring seasons. Additionally, Atomic runs summer Learn-to-Row camps and Open Boathouse experienced sessions. Fall is August-December and includes 5k time trial regattas. Spring is January-June and includes 2k head-to-head sprint races. Spring is the “championship season” for rowing and begins in March with local and regional races, progresses to May with Regional Championships, and culminates in June with the USRowing Youth National Championship. Masters (Adult) rowers have a similar fall season as listed above; their spring season features Regionals in June and Nationals in late July.
Varsity squad: Monday-Friday 4:15-6:16pm & Saturday 8:30-10:30am. Development squad, FALL: Monday-Wednesday-Friday 4:15-6:15pm & Saturday 8:30-10:30am. Development squad, SPRING: Tuesday-Friday 4:15-6:15pm & Saturday 8:30-10:30am.
While attendance is expected at all practices, absences for other sports, school activities, appointments, etc. are excused if coaches are provided notice 1 week in advance.
Rowing athletes wear tight fitting shorts or spandex, weather-appropriate athletic layers, socks and running shoes and bring a reusable water bottle along with an extra shirt and socks for use after getting wet occasionally during practice. Athletes are encouraged to bring healthy nutrition with them, especially when coming directly from school to practice.
For the most part, yes. Depending on amount of rain, we may still be able to get on the water but in severe weather, we can still train on land in the boathouse. When roads are unsafe, practice is cancelled and this is communicated via the team’s GroupMe.
Our Athletics Director communicates primarily via email regarding upcoming events. Email groups are created from the RegattaCentral email list of registrants, so make sure your athlete is registered. Both the Juniors and Masters coached programs have their own specific GroupMe message groups for coach-athlete communication.
The expectation is that Varsity squad members race in all scheduled fall and spring races. Development rowers, who are determined to be ready by the coach, race at up to 2 fall races and most spring races. Competing Development athletes are notified 10days-2 weeks prior to the race.
Programming costs vary by season. Visit our Juniors Programs pages for information. These costs are for coaching, and venue and equipment use. There are additional costs associated with competition and race uniforms.
An ORRA membership is not required for first-season rowers. In subsequent seasons, an ORRA membership is required for all athletes. More information on ORRA memberships and the required volunteer hours can be found at https://orra.org/membership-at-orra/.
Races are not included in regular program costs. Travel costs including entry fees, hotel and transportation fees are divided evenly amongst those traveling and billed after races. Athletes will also be required to purchase a racing uniform (unisuit) at the start of the season.
Most races require that parents transport or carpool their athletes to and from the race venue. Per USRowing rules, junior athletes under the age of 18 are not allowed to drive themselves to away races. Group/team travel is planned for one Fall and one Spring regatta. When the team travels as a group, parent/booster Chaperones and team leaders are required to monitor the safety and progress of the group.
Yes! We do not want the program or travel costs to prohibit the participation of any athlete. To set up a payment plan, register your athlete on RegattaCentral, select ‘Pay by Check’ and contact our bookkeeper Jon Neveu at accounts@orra.org. To inquire about scholarships, please contact the Oak Ridge Rowing Association Scholarship Committee at scholarship@orra.org.
Registration is completed through RegattaCentral. Beginners select the Junior Development program, and experienced athletes select the Junior Varsity program. If you want more information before registering, email our Athletics Director to schedule time for your athlete to come to practice. We offer a trial period of up to 3 days for new rowers and this does not cost anything, but parents are required to complete the ORRA Release of Liability for their athletes. After the trial period, parents must complete registration through RegattaCentral.
Parents must register their athletes on RegattaCentral linked HERE and complete the registration forms found on our website under Resources > Athlete Forms.
We are continuously recruiting throughout our rowing seasons! If you are unable to join during one season, you are welcome to join for the other season (Fall or Spring). Learn-to-Row Camps are offered in June for those looking to try the sport of rowing. For more information please visit our website, our instagram page, and/or email our Athletics Director.
Send them our way! We welcome new rowers, adults aged 21-80 and youth aged 13-19! Please encourage them to visit our website and email our Athletics Director to ask about private lessons or our coached programs.