S6E19 - The Business of Rowing: Inside RITA's Vision for the Sport

Think of all the companies represented in your boathouse. Maybe it’s boats manufactured by Vespoli, Pocock, or Hudson, and ergs and oars by Concept2. Maybe your coach keeps communications going using iCrew, or you open up the ErgZone app for training workouts. All of these companies – and nearly 20 others – are members of the Rowing Industry Trade Association (RITA). 

On this episode we talk with two founding members of RITA  – Michael Naughton, the COO of Nielsen-Kellerman; and Glen Burston, the Owner and Operations Manager of Hudson Boat Works. We’ll talk about how the association has opened up communication with World Rowing; about rules and regulations that impact companies and clubs; about what it would take to get more young kids into rowing, and more adults working in the rowing industry.

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QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode intro and welcome 03:19 - Rowing Week on a scale of 1-10 04:25 - The Huddle 06:25 - Hot Seat Q&A 11:23 - Michael and Glen’s rowing origin stories began in high school after turning away from other sports 17:35 - Finding profession in the rowing industry 22:03 - How RITA came to be and the vision for the association 24:48 - Balancing the needs and interests of RITA members 29:22 - RITA’s relationship with NGOs 30:44 - RITA members and member benefits 39:00 - Acknowledging three major disciplines: traditional, coastal, and indoor 41:38 - Considering ways to make rowing more accessible 47:24 - RITA at HOCR, sparking innovation, and industry job shop talk 51:02 - Steady State Network news and notes

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To see photos of Michael and Glen, and get links to the people, clubs, businesses, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Supporters.

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Steady State Podcast is hosted and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering, books show guests, and is our sponsor and donor coordinator. Rachel writes our scripts and e-newsletter, and manages the website and social media. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

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