Who counts as a Masters rower?
Rule- USA
- USRowing
- Masters rowing
- Age 21 and over
- Adult recreation
- USRowing Rules of Rowing
- 2026 rules
- Rowers
Under the USRowing Rules of Rowing, 2026 Edition (4-104.1(d)), a Master is anyone who has turned, or will turn, 21 during the current calendar year. You become a Master on January 1 of the year of your 21st birthday. Your age for the whole year is your age on December 31, rounded down.
- A Masters crew must be all Masters rowers. The coxswain doesn't have to be one.
- Masters eligibility doesn't depend on skill class, so a former college or national team rower can still race Masters.
- Exception: a member of the current year's National Team can't race at that year's Masters National Championships.
- Rowers who don't meet the age rule can't race in Masters events, or in a Masters age category they don't qualify for.
These rules apply at USRowing-registered regattas. A regatta can vary them only if it registered the changes with USRowing and published them to every team.
Added 21 Oct 2026