MRC Purpose
“The general purpose and aim of the Club shall be to encourage, develop and train its members and others for amateur competitive rowing and sculling, to permit and encourage recreational exercise for its members and to advance and encourage the sport and art of rowing and sculling in the City of Minneapolis and the Northwest. To this end, its plan of operation shall include active participation in amateur competitive rowing and sculling, the staging of regattas and rowing contests and the education of its members and others in the techniques and skills necessary to the foregoing. The purposes of this Club shall be limited to those educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of Internal Revenue Code of 1954.” Article III. Articles of Incorporation of Minneapolis Rowing Club

MRC Mission
The Minneapolis Rowing Club is a community organization dedicated to inspiring a lifelong passion for the sport of rowing.

MRC Vision

MRC Values

History of MRC
In July, 1877 fifteen young men founded the Lurline Boat Club in Minneapolis, MN. Wishing to improve their physical condition as well as their social advancement, they began rowing on Lake Calhoun with a four-oared gig, purchased from the St. Paul Boat Club. With an admission fee of $10 per year, and a $1 monthly fee, they quickly enlarged their navy by purchasing two new pair oars, one from the White Bear Lake boat builders Leman and Johnson and the other from Bachelor of Hudson, MN. The rowing club was considered, by newspaper accounts of the day, the most exclusive in the city. Their July 4th regattas in 1879 and 1881 had as many as five thousand spectators lining the Lake Calhoun shores. In 1885, the club hosted the first international regatta, the Minnesota and Winnipeg Rowing Association on Lake Minnetonka. The association was the forerunner to the present day Northwestern International Rowing Association (NWIRA).

As the turn of the century approached, the Lurliners were affected by a series of setbacks. Forced to move their facility several times, an aging membership, an enthusiasm for golf and service organizations, interest waned to such an extent that they considered withdrawal from the MN-Winnipeg Association. They reorganized, inviting any male paying a $5 fee to join the newly named Minneapolis Rowing Club. The U.S. in war--Spanish American War and World War I--spelled the death knell for the once prestigious club. Between 1901-1903 the navy was sold first to the Minikahda Club who in turn sold it to the Minnetonka Yacht Club.

After World War I, in 1928, staff at the Calhoun Beach Club advertised for rowers. Lee Miller and Scott Duncan responded. Initially naming themselves the Calhoun Beach Rowing Club, then the Minneapolis Crew Club, they finally restored the historic link to the original Lurliners by choosing Minneapolis Rowing Club as their new name.

World War II and city expansion forced the closing of the Calhoun rowing facility. Between 1958 and 1965 members of MRC were landlocked. They may not have rowed, but they planned and constructed the boathouse which occupies the prestigious location on the west bank of the Mississippi River. -Nancy Peterson, 1997

First Women Club President
The very 1st women's president of the club was Andrea(Andy) Twedt. Lloyd (Ohme) heard there were females rowing in Philadelphia and Dad thought why can't we have rowing here. My mother Bonnie was the cox and Andy, daughter to the St. Paul club Head Coach Karl Twedt,was the stroke. My dad Lloyd was the head coach. Andy started to row for MPLS because as far as her Dad and the St. Paul club members were concerned, women had no place in the rowing shell. Andy was the 1st female President at MRC. I remember that personally! Duluth then came on board and between those two clubs had the 1st Midwest Women's Rowing competition. It seems like there was someone inbetween Andy and Maureen as a female president but I don't remember but after Maureen Fitzgerald came Vicky Larsen and Ann Schley. ~Patricia Ohme Hansen~
1957
University of Minnesota Mens crew rows out of the Minneapolis Rowing Club's facility on the Mississippi and uses their equipment as well as donated equipment from the University of Wisconsin.