History

Olympia Area Rowing Association was originally organized in the 1980s and re-founded in 1998 by five local rowers. Now OAR has grown to over 80 adult members, more than 40 high school students, and around a dozen middle school students.

In the early days, OAR members kept their boats outside in what was called “The Compound” – an adjacent parking lot. The OAR boathouse, designed by club member Gretchen Van Dusen, was completed in 2005, and is located on property owned by the Port of Olympia. The 5,300-square-foot building is currently home to both OAR and the Olympia Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department water recreation programs.

Several graduates of the OAR Youth Program have gone on to row at the collegiate and international levels.

The float docks are owned and maintained by Olympia Area Rowing for the use of our coached rowing programs and recreational rowers. When not in use by the rowing community, we welcome the public to use these docks as part of our non-profit mission to support human-powered craft of all kinds.