I hope this message finds you well! It has been a long winter, hopefully sooner than later, the ice and snow will melt and we will be back on the river! This is the first of the quarterly updates I will send out to membership to keep everyone apprised with the goings on at SCRC.
The off-season erg sessions have continued for both the Youth & Maters programs. Several of the Club members have competed in the in-door rowing competitions and had great success! The first competition was the CRASH B’s in Boston. Our own, David Cuff, won the veterans event and youth oars women and SCRC Board Member, Mackenzie King, placed second overall for junior women. In Philadelphia, Tom Linus place third in Men’s Masters at the Center City Slam. Congratulation to David, Mackenzie & Tom, and thank you for representing the Swan Creek Rowing Club so well!
This past weekend our own Erg Fest was held at Wrightstown Health and Fitness. The Erg fest was a great success thanks to the efforts of David Cuff and Steve Platt. We had representation from several clubs which made for some great competition. The fastest time of the day belonged to young Tom Johnson. Tom is a high school sophomore representing Navesink R.C. Tom finished the 2k in 6:27! On the ladies side, SCRC’s Mackenzie King had the fastest time overall (juniors & masters). I think we are starting to see a trend here with young Miss King! Many of our Club Members also had success at the Erg Fest. Tom Linus achieved a personal best of 6:45 to win the Men’s Masters against some tough competition from Navesink and from his own SCRC teammates; Allen Albanir who was sub 7min and Dave Gallagher pulled a personal best.
So enough with the Ergs… When will we be back on the water? The tentative date for the boat move is targeted for March 29th and the site clean-up will be the weekend prior. We will see what Mother Nature brings the next few weeks since, as I write this note, the forecast is for an overnight temp of 0… yes zero. Therefore, be on the lookout for an email regarding site clean-up and boat move dates in the near future. Since we are within a month of the boat move date, now would be a great time to fill out the 2014 application & waiver and send it in along with your dues. The application and wavier can be found on the Club web site under the membership section. (you can copy the link below into your browser)
https://www.swancreekrowing.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SCRC_membership_application_and_waiver-2014.pdf
Now for some Club business! During the off season, the new Board of Directors of SCRC have been busy getting us ready for the 2014 rowing season. Below are some of the projects we have been working on.
Safety Procedures:
- A review / update of existing procedures are underway. This project is led by Board Member Linda Bachart, who has consolidated all existing procedures and is working with the Board and several Club members to ensure they are complete. The final draft of the procedures will be available to all Club Members this spring in hard copy. The form will be available at the boat site as well as on the Club website. The goal of this project is to ensure all Club Members have access to and are aware of all club rules regarding safety.
Learn to Row:
- Formal documentation of the program is being developed by Board Member Nancy Beedle. The goal is to have an official club process that will give a common experience to those new to rowing for both scull & sweep programs. The process will also address the next step for new Club Members when they complete their sculling or sweep programs.
Boat Acquisitions:
- We have been able to execute on the Boat Acquisition Plan that was put in place last November. Four boats have been purchased. Two singles (Peinerts 25 &26), a quad, and eight! The four additions to the club fleet will be ready for the 2014 season!
Oar Maintenance:
- The club oars, both scull & sweep are getting a make-over this off season. Club Member, Allen Albanir, is storing the oars in his barn and is leading the effort with the help of several members. The task grip/handle replacement and sanding/painting the oar blades is progressing well and the oars will be ready for the start of the season.
That should do it for now! If you have any questions or would like information on how to get involved, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
Yours in Rowing,
Richard