ROW Rybnik was a multi-sports club from Rybnik, Upper Silesia, Poland, founded in 1964. ROW stands for Rybnicki Okręg Węglowy which means The Rybnik Coal District. It catered for 13 different disciplines upon its establishment. Although no longer one club, several sections have remained active independently, using the "ROW" name. The most popular are the motorcycle speedway and football sections.
The original club folded in 1994 but sections of the club have survived or have been created as spiritual successors of the original club are:
The women's basketball team Basket ROW Rybnik is defunct.
The history of ROW dates back to 1920, when a group of Polish activists, who participated in the Silesian Uprisings, formed a sports organization in Rybnik. ROW itself was not formed until 1964, when two sports clubs, Górnik Rybnik and Górnik 23 Chwałowice, from nearby Chwałowice, merged. In its heyday (1970s), ROW Rybnik had 13 departments, including the most popular: football and speedway.
ROW Rybnik was officially created on 6 August 1964, upon the decision of local authorities. Its first manager was an influential coal magnate from Upper Silesia and chairman of Rybnik Union of Coal Industry, Jerzy Kucharczyk. ROW originally had 13 departments, including ski-jumping. Each department was financially supported by a different factory: ROW’s football team was sponsored by the Chwałowice Coal Mine.
The club folded in 1994 and only 4 departments have remained in existence, all acting independently of each other, retaining a historical link to the parent multi-sports club.