How Acorn is helping USRowing achieve Olympic success

The gap: Training thousands of members

USRowing is a non-profit membership organization, recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States.  

That’s no small charge: they select, train, manage, and promote the teams that represent the United States in multiple global competitions such as the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Pan American Games, and rowing’s World Championships.  

Their membership reflects the full spectrum of American rowers, from juniors, collegians, and masters to those who row for recreation, competition, or fitness to referees, coaches, and volunteers. That’s over 77,000 individuals across 1,430 organizations, with their membership size varying from 10 to more than 1,000 individuals. With fluctuating levels of education and experience between volunteers, coaches, and admin across organizations, club leaders experience a high churn in personnel resulting in a cyclical loss of institutional and operational knowledge.  

The solution: One scalable platform

In 2022, USRowing initiated strategic planning processes for high performance, community, and enhancing the value offered to their members. With the release of their 2023–2026 strategic plan, they turned their focus to the most impactful opportunities across three pillars.

1. Experience: Ensure they bring strong benefits to their members.   

2. Inclusion: Help the sport grow and be welcoming, fair, and accessible to all.   

3. Performance: Support their high-performance athletes to be the best in the world. 

Enter The Launch, USRowing’s application of Acorn. The platform was designed to meet their member base’s education needs with scalable, best-practice learning experiences that make it easier for their rowing organizations to grow, while also running competitive and recreational rowing programs. 

The impact: On-demand learning for diverse needs 

The Launch is standardizing education and simplifying the certification process for members; in turn creating universal standards and a balanced experience for rowers between organizations.  

Following the platform’s launch in September 2023, USRowing members have 24/7 access to learning materials, templates, and resources directly relevant to their needs; strengthening the professionalism and sophistication of organizations and enhancing member value.  

USRowing members face unique challenges that span regulations and technological advancements, to evolving safety protocols and coaching education. Learners can ask niche questions like, “What is the appropriate way to diversify my club?” Or “How can I use social media to help with fundraising?” and The Launch can answer with specific content.  

The platform also functions as a network of Olympic and Paralympic coaches and athletes, USRowing personnel, and their membership base, drawing on their state-of-the-art techniques and knowledge to create a one-stop learning and development platform. 

The system supports USRowing’s strategic goals of enhancing member experience, fostering inclusion, and enhancing performance. Long-term, USRowing anticipates significant growth in the sport through increased retention and recruitment of both organizational and individual members thanks to The Launch, furthering their mission to promote and support rowing in the United States. 

Quick stats

The Launch had over 500 active rowing organization learners within its first quarter. With 6,168 learners, the platform has facilitated 2,486 course enrollments and 1,021 course completions across 30 courses.