Program Purpose

Columbia Rowing Club is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose purpose, as defined in its constitution, is: "to educate the public on the benefits of the sport of rowing as a healthful means of recreation physical fitness and at all levels by providing instruction, competition and access to equipment and facilities in the Columbia, S.C. area."

The Club pursues this purpose through a variety of activities, including:
Youth Rowing (50%) is a program formally initiated in August 2009 after a number of years of offering rowing for youth at varying levels of commitment, coaching and participation. With the initiation of Youth Rowing in 2009, the Club made a commitment to recruit, train and support youth into a program that reflects the demographics of the community. This commitment meant that the Club needed to reach out to minority groups, especially the African-American community. This section describes the program as it now exists, the benefits of rowing to youth and the community, the outreach efforts of the Club, and the challenges facing the Club and Youth Rowing.

Youth Rowing is a program open to all youth in the region from about age 13 - 19 (encompassing grades 9-12, and grade 8 during the spring). All youth must pass a swim test as defined in the Club Membership Guidelines, Section II, Paragraph 1, and maintain at least a "C" average in academic subjects at school. Fees are established by the Club Youth Steering Committee at the beginning of each Fall season. By virtue of paying the Youth Rowing fees, each participant becomes a non-voting member of the Club. The parents/guardians of each youth must sign a standard waiver of liability. No rowing experience is required.

The annual Youth Rowing program is divided into two seasons, the Spring Season (mid-February through May) and the Fall Season (mid-August through mid-November). Participants in Youth Rowing practice 3-4 times per week under the supervision of an experienced, USRowing certified coach, as outlined in the Club’s Membership Guidelines and the Programs Governance and Coaching Guidelines documents (attached). Currently, the coaches serve as volunteers without compensation.

Practice. At the beginning of each Fall or Spring Season, new rowers are paired with experienced rowers in team boats of 2, 4 or 8 rowers to learn rowing technique. This phase lasts for several weeks until the new rowers develop sufficient skills as judged by the Head Coach. After that phase, the coaching staff makes boat assignments as deemed appropriate for a particular practice, competition, and/or rower development.

Competition. During each season, Youth Rowing participates in several off-site regattas and either home or away scrimmages with other youth programs. Specific regattas and scrimmages are chosen based on appropriateness of the competition, scheduling and travel distance.

Funding. Each participant in Youth Rowing pays a fee that includes Club membership (required to be covered by USRowing insurance) and partially covers expenses associated with the program, including equipment repair and maintenance, safety/coaching launch fuel, supplies and some regatta fees. No youth is denied participation due to financial hardship, and a fund has been established within the Club to pay the fees for disadvantaged youth.

Outreach. The Club is committed to bringing minority youth, normally not associated with the sport of rowing, into the program to introduce them to rowing and to provide all the advantages the sport offers. In 2009, the Club began working with a program that assists "at-risk" youth, through tutoring and mentoring. Eight youth from the program assisted at the Head of the Broad Rowing Regatta in October 2009, their first introduction to rowing. A number of the youth indicated an interest in participating in rowing, and, by paying their fees for swim classes, the Club began a effort to improve their swimming skills so they could pass the swimming requirement. Six youth took the first round of swimming lessons, and two have successfully passed the swimming qualification tests. They are now practicing and training with the others in Youth Rowing, and their program fees have been paid by the fund established by the club. The other four youth will continue swimming lessons until they qualify and can join the rowing team. These activities will be ongoing: identify at-risk youth, beginning in the 7th and 8th grades, who could benefit from rowing and are willing to put in the effort, qualify them by providing swimming lessons as required and integrate them into Youth Rowing by the time they are in the first year of high school. The Club has an active fund raising committee that is identifying sources of funding to support this outreach program.

Benefits of Rowing. As a full-body, aerobic sport, rowing builds strength, stamina and healthfulness, and the benefits of rowing extend well-beyond the obvious physical benefits. Rowing does not require any particular or special athletic ability, so it can be practiced by anyone willing to put in the effort. The sport is relatively easy to learn but difficult to perfect, meaning that an individual’s performance in rowing is directly correlated with the effort that person has put into his/her training.

Except for one particular class of boats, singles sculling, rowing is a team sport; some call it the ultimate team sport. There are no stars in a team boat, whether it is a 2-person, 4-person or 8-person shell. Each member of the "crew" is as important as every other member, and every crew member must be in nearly perfect synchronization with all the others: 2, 4, 8, or 16 oars must enter and exit the water at exactly the same time. The intricate timing required in rowing teaches important lessons in teamwork that will last a lifetime. The camaraderie and closeness that develops during a season is obvious in that rowers begin to look out for and help each other in many aspects of their lives.

Another important aspect of rowing that it, in order to row well, the rower must concentrate on every phase of the rowing stroke, and paying attention to where the boat is on the race course at every moment. Combined with the endorphins produced during physical activity, "concentration on the task at hand" results on a remarkable sense of well-being at the end of a rowing session, whether it is practice or a race. Having to "concentrate on the task at hand" is another important life-lesson, counter-balancing today’s demands to multi-task.

By participating in regional competition, the rowers get to know rowers from other cities in neighboring states, gain confidence in their own abilities and learn the value of hard work. In the short time our program has been in place, we have seen a close relationship develop between our rowers and those from the program in Charlotte, NC, 90 miles away. Through competition, our rowers who were always tentative and afraid to take a risk have become much more confident and ready to take on any challenge. They have observed improved performance with practice and hard work.

Rowing Equipment. Equipment is quite expensive but lasts for many years; however, it is specific for the type of rowing and the size of the rower. Currently, Youth Rowing is sharing boats with the adults in the Club, using equipment the Club has acquired over the years. The equipment is adequate for Youth Rowing at present but will need to be expanded, upgraded and made more appropriate as the program grows. The fund raising committee is addressing this issue as well as the outreach program outlined above. The first piece of equipment has already been purchased, a new trailer for transporting boats to regattas. The trailer, costing approximately $14,000, was purchased in 2010 primarily for use by Youth Rowing.