Atlanta Junior Rowing Association was founded in 1988 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit club sport dedicated to providing rowing opportunities for high school students throughout Metro Atlanta.   The program started as a small club rowing out of the Atlanta Rowing Club's boathouse.  By the late 1990's, AJRA had grown so much that it needed its own boathouse.  In the fall of 2000, the club negotiated with the City of Roswell to construct a boathouse at its present address on Azalea Road.  AJRA has since grown in size and today has over 100 rowers from middle schools and high schools throughout the Atlanta area.  High schools represented include Roswell, Centennial, Alpharetta, Pope, Walton, St. Francis, Lovett, and many others.

Rowing is a centuries old sport steeped in tradition which traces its origins back to ancient times.  The beginnings of the modern version of the sport date to the early 18th century when rowing saw the creation of the two most historic races in the sport: the Oxford-Cambridge boat race in 1829 and the Henley Royal Regatta in 1839.  As an Olympic sport,  rowing was slated to take place in the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 but due to bad weather did not make its appearance until the Paris Olympics in 1900.  In recent times, rowing has seen a tremendous surge in popularity at both the high school and college level.   The teamwork and camraderie involved in the sport at every level continues to foster friendships and still remains the main reason for the popularity of the sport.