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Jul 11, 2024
USRowing is pleased to release the following documents:
Readers are encouraged to review these documents for details, data, and context regarding the organization’s performance in 2023. These materials combined offer an opportunity to garner a holistic understanding of USRowing’s fiscal, operational, and strategic pillar execution last year. All available historical versions of these documents can be found on our Financials page.
USRowing Board Chair Kirsten Feldman, and CEO Amanda Kraus penned a joint letter (also in the 2023 Annual Report) highlighting some of the achievements accomplished last year, focusing on the three strategic pillars of Performance, Experience, and Inclusion, as well as the organization’s operating performance:
Dear Rowing Community,
2023 saw many milestones and achievements for USRowing. Throughout this annual report, you’ll see the impact of the work we’re doing to steward, strengthen, and grow American rowing by championing performance and igniting new passion for the sport. Below are a few highlights from our three strategic pillars as well as our operating performance:
Performance: Our Senior and Para teams qualified 10 boats for the Paris 2024 Games and earned seven medals at the 2023 World Rowing Championships — more than double the three medals in 2022. We also had our best performance at the Pan American Games in 24 years, earning 10 total medals in 2023 and creating positive momentum on the water leading into the Olympic year. Underscoring our commitment to long-term success, we launched the Pathways Program to nurture emerging American rowing talent by providing a transparent, integrated route to the National Team. Our excellence in high performance earned recognition from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in the form of increased funding year over year, and our own Ellen Minzner earned the 2023 Paralympic Coach of the Year award.
Experience: With record participation in 2023 and the introduction of new benefits and resources, we’re building a strong foundation for member value in the years to come. The average number of individual members increased to an all-time high of over 77,000, the 282 regattas we sanctioned exceeded the pre-pandemic high of 258 in 2019, and we welcomed a record of more than 17,700 athletes to our hosted competitions. The success of last year’s Youth National Championships earned the acknowledgment of SportsTravel, honoring us with the Best Amateur Sports Event Award.
The Launch, our new learning experience platform, went live for club leaders and had over 500 active rowing organization learners within its first quarter. As The Launch expands, it will unlock transformative learning and development opportunities for our coaches, athletes, referees, member organizations, and the broader USRowing community. Further, 1,130 members registered for Level 1, 2, or 3 coach certifications, and we received an average 4.4/5-star score from athletes who attended our Youth Development and Selection Development camps. Finally, we established a centralized Safeguarding team with dedicated case management and referee personnel, alongside resources to protect and promote the welfare of all participants.
Coupled with our increasing focus on learning and development, ongoing commitment to compliance standards, and foundational technology investments, our Safeguarding efforts will be critical to the long-term sustainability of our member insurance program in an era of rapidly rising premium costs for national governing bodies of sport.
Inclusion: We initiated our six-year Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan, including the launch of United We Row – an initiative that focuses on supporting rowing programs, coaches, athletes, and anyone interested in advancing the sport of rowing through DEI. It embodies our commitment to ensure that everyone in the rowing community knows that they belong and feels valued as unique individuals. Through our inclusion efforts in 2023, we have supported and served 1,000 US Veterans and members of the armed services with disabilities through Freedom Rows, gifted $145,000 in scholarships, and facilitated trauma informed coach training and anti-racism training for 150 community members. Our community engagement team also developed strategic partnerships with six organizations to support our commitment to making a seat in the boat for everyone. One of our partners is We Ride Together, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports.
Operating Performance: 2023 brought the most successful year in the last decade, with a high of $15.9 million in revenue and an operating surplus of $615,953 — the first since 2015 (excluding PPP loan forgiveness in 2020 and 2021). We also generated $4.7 million in grants and contributions – the most in our history. Overall, we raised a record $6.7 million through contributions, grants, and USOPC funding.
Our strategic expense management and capital investments lay the foundation for a financially and operationally stable organization. Our 2023 net surplus will kickstart a strategic board reserve that will allow us to continue to invest in our strategic pillars while building a sustainable organization.
None of this would be possible without the support of our members, donors, volunteers, partners, and Board who have contributed so much to our sport. We thank each one of you for your support and belief in us. We also take this opportunity to show our appreciation to outgoing Board Chair, Nobu Ishizuka, and Board members Lisa Stone and Kevin Harris, all of whom have completed their service to USRowing.
We are overwhelmed with gratitude for this community, encouraged by our momentum, and inspired by the possibilities ahead. While we have more work to do to achieve excellence as the governing body of rowing, now more than ever, we are confident in the prospects of our future and the organization’s trajectory as we lead into hosting the Olympics and Paralympics on home soil at Los Angeles 2028.
We look forward to seeing you out on the course in the year ahead.
Kirsten Feldman Amanda Kraus
Board Chair CEO
