Riverside’s Open Men’s Sweep Team (aka “The Meatwagon”) is a group of upstanding young men between the ages of 22 and 35 who believe that just because your college racing career is over, doesn’t mean you have to stop training and competing at a high level. 

We want to revitalize the club rowing scene and prove that it’s possible to be competitive while working a full-time job or completing graduate school. Our primary focus is on competition in sweep boats but, that being said, if it floats or has a flywheel attached to it, our guys will try to race it. Many of our athletes also scull and some have had good results in sculling events while also racing in our sweep boats. We are a fun group that likes to work hard, play hard, and make boats go fast. If you like those things too, we may be the program for you.

Year-round membership

Men’s Open Sweeps accepts rowers who wish to train and compete competitively for full-time membership. Our roster size is limited, so try-outs/acceptance will be considered based on the capacity of the team at the time of application.

Ideally, we are looking for rowers with 4 years of competitive rowing experience. Due to the limited coaching and equipment resources, as well as the experiences of the team, we can’t accept anyone who has not raced competitively in college.

We are first and foremost a racing team, so we are looking for rowers who are committed to training, getting faster, and helping our boats win. If you’re interested in applying, please see the below erg recommendations as well, and fill out the application below (we apologize in advance if it takes a while to respond, feel free to email us directly for quicker responses).

erg score recommendations

In order to be considered for membership, applicants should be at or within range of the following erg scores (if applicable).

Exceptions may be made based on past experience, so please contact us with questions. If you’ve raced in college, these scores are PR guidelines and not necessarily where you should be right now.

Coach

Kevin McCarthy

mccarthy[dot]m[dot]kevin (at) gmail [dot] com

—

captains

Aidan Lee

aidenwlee (at) gmail [dot] com

Kyle Richardson kyle (at) cmak [dot ] net

To Apply, please complete a RBC Membership Application and indicate you would like to join the Men’s Sweep team.

You may also contact the captains first to find out more about the team and the application process for the team.

regattas & Past results

In the summer we focus on the Independence Day Regatta (IDR) in Philadelphia, Club Nationals, and Canadian Henley in St. Catharine’s, Ontario. During the fall, we race most weekends from mid-September to the end of October, with our major race being the Head of the Charles. We also work in scrimmages or dual races with competing clubs whenever we can. One of our goals is to establish strong ties between other post-graduate rowing programs, develop those relationships, and work to foster a club-rowing community that values racing and training hard year-round.

Results highlights

2024

• Quarter-finalists Henley Brittania Challenge Cup

• 1st Place: Club Entry, Club 8+ HOCR (2nd overall)

• 1st Place: Club Entry, Club 4+ HOCR (2nd overall)

2023

• 1st Place: Men’s Inter 8+ and 4+ IDR

• 2nd Place: Men’s Open 8+ Summer Nationals

2022

• Quarter-finalists Henley Thams Challenge Cup

• 1st Place: Club Entr, Club 8+ HOCR (3rd overall)

2021

• 1st Place: Men’s Open 8+ IDR

• 2nd Place: Men’s Open 8+ Club Nationals

• 1st Club Entry, Club 8+ HOCR (5th overall)

2019

• 1st Place: Men’s Open 8+ IDR

2018

• 1st Club Entry, Club 8+ HOCR, 4th overall

• 2nd Place: Men’s Int 8+ IDR

• 2nd Place: Men’s Lightweight 8+ Club Nationals

• 5th Place: Men’s Intermediate 8+ Club Nationals

• 5th Place: Men’s Open 8+ Club Nationals

2017 (highlights)

• 1st Club Entry, Club 8+ HOCR, (3rd overall)

• 1st Overall Club 4+ HOCR