The Launch: Rowing stories by custom rowing clothing founder, Joline Esparza and the JL Team

2025 Father's Day Gift Guide

Whether your dad rows himself or supports you from the sidelines, we have the perfect gift for him. Show your dad how much you care with the gift of high quality rowing gear! Shop individual items or complete bundles for a gift that is sure to be loved!

May 28, 2025 — Natalie Dee

More Than a Sport: How Rowing Can Transform Communities

Joshua Rafferty writes about increasing involvement in rowing in minority communities, specifically highlighting Trenton, NJ and Seattle, WA. Throughout the article, Rafferty advocates for greater inclusion in a traditionally white-dominated sport, sharing his personal experiences as a Black rower and highlighting the positive impact rowing can have on youth development, academic success, and future opportunities. He discusses limitations related to transportation, scheduling, coaching, finances, awareness, and recruiting.

April 08, 2025 — Natalie Dee

Purdue Crew Row-a-Thon

Each year, Purdue Crew engages in a fundraising effort known as the “Row-a-Thon.” The Row-a-thon event takes place at the Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette, Indiana, and is a community service event to support both the Lafayette Urban Ministry’s (LUM) Good Samaritan Fund as well as Purdue Crew. This year, the Row-a-Thon will take place on Saturday, February 8th from 8am-6pm EST. Athletes will row a marathon, 26.2 miles, over the course of three hours on indoor rowing machines.

February 05, 2025 — Kristin Foster

Survivor Rowing Network: Seats for Survivors Fundraiser

Survivor Rowing Network (SRN) is excited to introduce rowing to more cancer survivors in 2024 and build on its success in 2023, their inaugural year. In honor of Valentine’s Day, SRN is launching their fundraising campaign, Seats for Survivors. JL Racing is proud to open the Seats for Survivors Pre-Order Store this month to support SRN's fundraiser. 10% of net sales from this pre-order store will be donated to the Seats for Survivors fundraiser.

February 13, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Celebrating the Launch of Xavier Rowing Club

In September 2023, New Orleans Rowing Club and Xavier University of Louisiana partnered to launch the Xavier Rowing Club program, becoming only the second of its kind at a Historically Black College or University. The initiative is currently led by NORC members Elizabeth Manley and Chloé Jobin. Over the past months, more than a dozen enthusiastic Xavier students with no previous rowing experience have learned the fundamentals of the sport on the waters of Bayou St. John and at the NORC indoor rowing facility. The team is eager to continue to train this season with a group of capable and eager novice rowers, and they hope to race in fours or eights in the spring.

February 12, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Back to Scull: A Wardrobe Guide

With the fall season approaching, it's time to spruce up your rowing gear! Whether you are going back to school, or you are going into your next masters season, here are 14 different items that will be a perfect addition to your fall kit. There is a mix of gear for warm weather, as well as some pieces for when the weather starts to turn. This list of versatile items will help set you up for success this upcoming season! For more fall gear, check out our Back to School Survival Guide on JL Athletics!

August 03, 2023 — Nora Devine

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!

March 22, 2023 — Kristin Foster

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

March 06, 2023 — Kristin Foster

Athlete Spotlight: Nikki Hallahan

Meet Nikki Hallahan, a freshman on the rowing team at Purdue University. Nikki started rowing in high school, and hasn't looked back! Her favorite pre-practice snack is a protein shake she makes in her dorm room with protein powder, almond milk, vitamins/supplements, and yogurt. Her favorite seat is bow seat in a 4x, and she is also bisweptual when rowing sweep! Read about how special rowing is to her, what her goals are for the season, and what she recommends to high schoolers considering rowing in college.

February 20, 2023 — Kristin Foster

National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2023

In recognition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 1, 2023, we asked three of our ambassadors, Zola, Mallory, and Nancy, about their experiences in sports. Read about how these women feel about being an athlete, their accomplishments in sport, and what they would like to see for girls and women in the future.

January 30, 2023 — Kristin Foster

Veterans Day Spotlight: Patrick Ward

Team JL Ambassador, Patrick Ward is a disabled United States Navy Veteran, injured while on Active Duty. He underwent 52 surgeries and the amputation of his right leg above the knee racking up a total of more than 2 years in the hospital. He has trained at the Miami Beach Rowing Club for the last 5 years, and currently holds Men’s PR2 World Records in multiple categories. In honor of Veterans Day 2022, we sat down with Pat to learn more about his journey from his high school dreams of being a rower, to becoming a PR2 athlete.

November 09, 2022 — Kristin Foster

Row For The Cure Pink The Boathouse Challenge 2022

Gather your friends, family, and teammates for Row for the Cure's Pink the Boathouse Challenge in honor or memory of a friend or loved one. Have fun and challenge yourself as we come together to fight cancer. Row, erg, run or walk throughout October. Form or join a team and participate in-person or virtually. Proceeds help fund community cancer organizations that support cancer patients and their families and rowing clubs which empower cancer survivors.

September 21, 2022 — Kristin Foster