Who makes RowingBeacon

I’m Mathis Barré, a rower and a software developer. RowingBeacon is my biggest personal project: a free digital logbook for rowing clubs that I build on my own, as a volunteer, in my spare time.

My biggest project

RowingBeacon is the biggest personal project I have ever taken on. I have been working on it for a long time, and I have no plans to stop.

AI is now very powerful, and I want to use it well. My aim is to build very complete, very capable software for all rowing clubs, 100% free. I do it because building it is fun, and because seeing the app in use makes me happy.

Rowing

I rowed at Société Nautique de Saumur Aviron (SNSA), then at Angers Nautique Aviron, two clubs in western France. When I was younger I became champion of the Ligue Pays de la Loire, the regional rowing federation. Today I row indoors, on an ergometer, and I’d like to get back to a club as soon as my personal life allows.

7 years as a professional developer

I have been a professional developer since October 2019, so I have 7 years of experience. My first professional project was in October 2019, I set up my own micro-enterprise in May 2020, and I started a work-study placement at Lion Coach in August 2020. My first permanent developer job, at Beapp, began in October 2021. I joined shotgun.live as a full-stack developer in February 2023, then heropay.eu in September 2023. Since summer 2026 I have been working at Appcraft, an event management platform.

Since October 2022 I have also taught React and React Native to first- and second-year Master’s students at ECV Nantes.

That experience matters for RowingBeacon, because I use AI without handing it the wheel. I design the software, review what the AI produces and test it myself. AI helps me move faster, but it does not replace my judgement. More about my background is on mathisbarre.com.

Where the idea came from

While trying out sessions in Nantes, then at Université Nantes Aviron, I saw efa2 in the boathouse. Rowers used it for every outing. A tool that widely used showed me that clubs have a real need for a digital logbook, and I wanted to offer my own.

So efa2 is what gave me the idea for RowingBeacon. The link has stayed: RowingBeacon now imports the data of an efa2 project and can hand it back, as the guide Migrate from efa2 to RowingBeacon explains. efa2 also comes first among the other tools that may suit some clubs better.

Write to me

I read every message and answer it myself. If RowingBeacon is used in your club, tell me which one: I like to know where it is used, what helps you and what you are missing. That feedback decides the next versions.