Upcoming Programs in 2026

Erg Workouts

“It’s like rowing, but without the water”

In Winter when it is too dark to row or the weather is not ideal, time the erg (ergometer, or indoor rower) is our friend and nemesis. It holds nothing back and is always brutally honest. This is our time to build the base fitness that will allow us to gain speed readying ourselves when we are back on the water in Spring and Summer.

All are welcome to the following group erg sessions. If you are not currently a member of the Aquatic Center these are still available with a $35 monthly fee:

Coached erg workouts: Tuesdays & Thursdays 6:30pm-7:30pm
Steady state erging: Mondays 7:00am
Learn to erg/technique erging: Saturdays 9:30am
“Concept 2 Rankable Piece”: 2nd Sunday of each month, 8:00am.
- Beginning short, growing longer each month. January: 100m, February: 1 minute, March: 500m

Erg Events

Other Ways to erg

Concept2 workout of the day and challenges Concept2 Logbook | Challenges
Just finished: Each winter Concept 2 hosts the Holiday Challenge, during which users are challenged to row a total of at least 100,000m between Thanksgiving and Christmas, after which Concept 2 will donate funds to charity for each meter rowed. This year the “Capital Crew” group in the Concept 2 logbook had 8 members achieve this amount, earning $25 for charity – worldwide over 18,000 rowers have logged sufficient meters to donate over $60,000 total!
January (whole month): Concept 2’s Virtual Team Challenge runs January 1st-31st, during which teams can compete to log the most meters. Join Capital Crew to participate!
Monthly (year round): The “Cross Team Challenge” is affiliated with British Rowing and offers a new workout event each month that is ranked against other participants – workouts are intended to fit within a lunch hour. Most entries are associated with “virtual teams” but anyone is allowed to participate.
January 10th (registration due by 1/5): Virtual Head of the Hooch – masters events are 1000m.
January 31st: Bay Area Indoor Regatta, Berkeley High School. 2k, 1k, and 500m events. Registration must be done on Regatta Central BEFORE the day-of.
January 31st: Erg Sprints, Alexandria, VA. Interested in traveling to a huge event? Join more than 1300 athletes of all ages and backgrounds in events ranging from 500m to marathon rows.
February 7th: Golden State Indoor Rowing Championships. Hometown event! Registration & details to be available at https://www.sacstateaquaticcenter.com/special-events

February 21st-22nd, & 28th (virtual): World Indoor Rowing Championships. 1min (individual), 1000m (team or individual), 5000m (team or individual) events.

Learn to Row Courses

Starting Rowing Here!

Interested? Click here.

No experience is necessary—just a willingness to learn, move, and have fun.

In this 4-session course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of rowing from experienced coaches, meet great people, and experience the joy of moving together as a team on the water.

🗓 Feb 14–15 & Feb 21–22, 2026
⏰ 9:00–11:00 am
📍 Sacramento State Aquatic Center
👥 Adults 21+ | Class size limited
Cost of all 4 sessions - $175

Spots fill quickly—RSVP soon and see why rowing creates lasting friendships both on and off the water. For more information, please contact Jackie Snyder at jacqueline.snyder@csus.edu

2026 Racing

Upcoming Events for Competing

These are the events we hope to have significant team attendance at and will be prioritizing from a training perspective at coached practices:

River City Rebellion - West Sacramento: June 6th (small boats) & 7th (large boats)
USRowing NW Masters Regionals - Lowell, OR: June 26th - 28th
Head of the Port - West Sacramento: October 4th
Head of the American - Lake Natoma: October 24th

These events have also had Capital Masters’ attendance in the past, as individuals, part of composite crews, or in small boats. If you are interested in attending but are unsure about next steps reach out and we can help!

San Diego Crew Classic - San Diego, CA: March 27th
Open Ocean Regatta – Sausalito usually: ~March 27th (+/- a week)
North Tahoe Regatta - Tahoe City, CA: August 9th
Petaluma Marathon and ½ Marathon - Petaluma, CA: September 6th
US Rowing RowFest - Ypsilanti, MI: masters’ events July 16th-19th
Head of the Charles - Boston, MA: October 16th-18th

Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma

Lake Natoma will be hosting championship collegiate and junior events. Come watch some fantastic rowing, or better yet, come help volunteer!

Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (WIRA) Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, April 26
USRowing Southwest Youth Championships Friday, May 1 – Sunday, May 3
West Coast Conference Championships Friday, May 15 – Saturday, May 16
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Rowing Championships Sunday, May 17
IRA National Championship (Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Lightweight), May 29-May 31.

Media of Note

Here are some recommendations from our rowers for inspiration and technical advice.

Social Media:
Sam Dutney is an Australian rower and coach who regular puts out short-form content across all major platforms on rowing technique and training that is digestible, relevant, and good advice.

Book:
“Endure” by Alex Hutchinson. It is not rowing-specific (although rowing does come up) but is an engrossing exploration into the mental and physical connections in endurance sports.

Movie:

“A Most Beautiful Thing”. A documentary following the first African American high school team, from Chicago’s West Side. Directed and narrated by Olympic rower Mary Mazzio and adopted from the memoir by Arshay Cooper.