The Launch
The Boat Race Signs JL Racing as Official Kit Supplier
JL Racing has been appointed the official performance wear sponsor by The Boat Race Company. The partnership will see Oxford University Boat Club and Cambridge University Boat Club outfitted with JL Racing’s custom performance rowing apparel for training and racing.
Team JL 2025 Ambassador Program
Are you passionate about rowing and eager to share your love for the sport with a wider audience? Do you want to join forces with JL and help elevate our brand while building connections within the rowing community? If you enjoy creating engaging content and making an impact, we’re excited to announce that applications for the 2025 Team JL Ambassador Program are open from September 17 to September 26.
Steering Toward Success: Coxswain’s Fall Season Essentials
Head race season is just around the corner! As coxswains swap side-by-side strategy and start sequences for course maps, 5k plans and perfecting their best “YIELD!”, now is the perfect time to open up those dry bags and double check that you have everything you need to be successful this fall.
Stylish Start: Rowers’ Must-Haves for the New Semester
The fall season is nearly upon us! It’s an exciting period of reuniting with teammates, making new friends and lots and lots of meters. As you add the “student” back into life as a student-athlete, preparation is vital. Whether you’re beginning a new journey or planning to make the most of your senior year, starting the season with the right gear is one way you can set yourself up for success.
JL Racing Partners with Fulham Reach Boat Club
JL Racing has proudly announced a strategic partnership with Fulham Reach Boat Club. This collaboration aims to broaden access to rowing within their communities, particularly among those facing financial or social challenges, fostering their growth both on and off the water. Bringing together two prominent rowing organizations from the United States and the United Kingdom, this partnership seeks to enhance the rowing community on a broader scale. By reaching out to underserved communities, establishing connections within the rowing industry, and providing unique exposure opportunities, both parties aim to expand their impact.
Two Passions on a Single: Charlie, the Rowing Chestnut
I have some rather niche passions. The first one might not seem so niche to you, since you are currently reading “The Launch” a rowing blog made by a rowing gear company, but for many, it seems quite odd to have a wake up before 5 am to go sit on a tippy boat, narrower than your butt, to move backwards on a river…My second passion is the Castanea dentata tree (I told you it was rather niche…), the American Chestnut tree!
The Boys in the Boat Movie
The Boys in the Boat is a sports drama based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown. The film, directed by George Clooney, is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world. The movie will open in theaters on December 25.
4 Essentials For Rowers
JL Racing sent me over a nice box of gear this year to try and give honest feedback on. I had previously had JL gear through their provision of the national team gear in Ireland in 2018 and also when I joined Team JL 2018 in my last year of university rowing. I was excited as I was still to this day wearing their JL Racing t-shirts day to day as I loved the quality and how well they washed and could be used over and over. They also sat on my shoulders and arms really nicely, which was a bonus for the ego. Looking good in clothes can never be a bad thing. I have compiled my must-haves for a rowing session and why.
Team Spotlight: Sammamish Rowing Association
Usually a rowing club starts with some rowers and a coach, then some boats and oars, and eventually a boathouse. But with SRA, the boathouse came first. In 1994, Hod Fowler, a former collegiate rower, learned of an old boathouse in Marymoor Park. The boathouse was originally built by the Overlake School on the site of a former sewage-treatment plant. Overlake later abandoned the building, and Fowler discovered it was weeks away from being demolished as part of a toxic-site cleanup project in Marymoor Park.
Erg Warmup With Philip Doyle
Warming up before a workout is crucial to get yourself ready to perform at your best, and avoid injury. Warming up increases your heart rate and therefore your blood flow. This enables more oxygen to reach your muscles. A warmup also activates and primes the connections between your nerve and muscles, which improves the efficiency of movement. So, how do you get ready for an erg workout or rowing on the water? Follow along with Philip Doyle, as he takes us through his warmup on the erg!
Mobility Session With Philip Doyle
Everyone can use more mobility and stretching in their routines. Stretching has many benefits, such as it improves your performance, decreases risk of injury, increases mobility and full range of motion, and more. Sometimes it is difficult to dedicate the proper time to stretching before and after workouts, but we've made it easy with a pre-workout routine from Philip Doyle that you can follow along with before your next row!
Didn't compete in varsity? It's not too late for you, Masters!
This blog post is dedicated to people who discovered rowing later in life at the masters level, and who haven't raced in school or college. Many masters are rowing in clubs for leisure/exercise more than to compete and it's sometimes hard to train for competitions when the rest of the team is not in this mindset. This blog post features quotes from two JL ambassadors sharing their advice with us
