A Little About Being a Member in the ERC

You loved your Learn to Row course and want to keep rowing!  Maybe you’re joining us from another club or have been with the ERC for a long time. 

Here’s more information about what it means to be a member of the ERC:

You’ll be able to work out year-round under qualified coaches.  Our on-water season extends from May through October.  When you can’t row on the river, you can take advantage of coached or self-directed indoor training at our first-class indoor facility.  Our indoor facility has a workout space for erging, as well as a tank that allows you to closely mimic the boat experience.

You’ll be a part of one of Edmonton’s best kept secrets, a vibrant volunteer-led organization that gives far more than it takes. As a non-profit society, the ERC works hard to provide quality programming, facilities, and equipment at reasonable cost to anyone who loves rowing.  Every membership means you benefit from the club which backs your rowing, but also that you back up the ERC and give a little back to the process by contributing time and skills to various club operations, including fundraising.

Volunteering at and around the club

Your time commitment will vary depending on which membership level you join.  Serving on the Board of directors and assisting at special events such as Come Try Rowing days or Regattas are great ways to volunteer and to build friendships with your fellow members while gaining knowledge about our sport.  You can also help with the many of the smaller on-going tasks that keep the boathouse and programs running smoothly – from laundering boat wiping rags to assisting with dock maintenance.  Not sure what needs to be done?  Contact our communications director for more information.

Fundraising

Bingos and casinos are by far our largest fundraising events.  Under our Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis license, we host about 15 bingos each year, all at the Parkway Bingo Hall, plus 1 casino every second year.  Bingos and Casinos require workers to be 18 years of age, so parents need to step up and help out to fulfill these shifts.

To pay for programs we are committed to providing up to 15 volunteers per bingo.

You might wonder how much money we raise this way, and how we use the funds.  In 2021-2, our bingo proceeds were about $50,000, and our casino proceeds were about $76,000.  We use these funds for AGLC approved expenditures:

  • Wages for coaches
  • Utilities and other facility expenses
  • Boat purchases, facility construction and upgrades, and other capital expenditures.

 

Because of the significance of this fundraising activity, ERC members and parents or guardians of youth members commit to assisting at, or funding another person to assist at, gaming events.  Details of the current year commitment are included in the registration details in our online store.