NORTH WESTERN INTERNATIONAL ROWING ASSOCIATION
NORTH WESTERN INTERNATIONAL ROWING ASSOCIATION
The North Western International Rowing Association is a regional association of Canadian and American rowing clubs of the Upper Mid-Western United States and Western Canada.
The Association was founded in 1885 by the Winnipeg Rowing Club, the Minnesota Boat Club and the Saint Paul Lurline Rowing Club, and was originally named "The Minnesota and Winnipeg Rowing Association".
The Association was dormant from 1897 to 1905 during the Boer and American-Spanish Wars. In 1905 the Association was revived in as the "Mid-West-Canada Rowing Association" and the annual regatta was held in 1906 on Lake Minnetonka just West of Minneapolis, MN. In 1909 the North Western International Rowing Association name was adopted.
2025 marks the 119th running of the NWIRA Championship Regatta. The regatta is scheduled to take place August 15th-16th on Rabbit Lake in Kenora, Ontario.
The NWIRA comprises 12 member clubs:
Brainerd Lakes Rowing Club
Duluth Rowing Club
Kenora Rowing Club
Long Lake Rowing Crew
Minneapolis Rowing Club
Minnesota Boat Club
Regina Rowing Club
Rochester Rowing Club
Saskatoon Rowing Club
Thunder Bay Rowing Club
Twin Cities Youth Rowing
Winnipeg Rowing Club
NWIRA member clubs host the following events throughout the year:
Minneapolis Sprints
Tops & Bottoms
Thunder Bay Sprints
Duluth International Regatta
NWIRA Championships
Pike Island Challenge
Death Row
Head of the Miss
Head of the Red
NWIRA Curling Championships