New Bedford, Boston rowing group partner in new venture

By Brian R. Ballou

Globe Staff / November 20, 2009

Against a backdrop of sleek racing shells stacked in a boathouse along the Charles River, Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford announced yesterday that his city has teamed with Community Rowing Inc. to help bring the sport of rowing to the murky Acushnet River - and to the lives of the city’s schoolchildren and residents.

The six-month partnership is the first leg of a three-year, $40 million plan Lang conceived to create a top-level rowing course on the Acushnet, with amenities such as a boathouse, launch deck, and observation areas on the river’s banks.

“This will be an economic stimulus for us, and improve the quality of life,” Lang said, standing in front of the Community Rowing boathouse in Brighton, considered by the US Rowing Association to be one of the best programs in the country. “It’s about getting people outside, involved in their environment, reconnecting New Bedford to an important part of its history: its river.”

Rowing, he added, is part of the region’s unsung past. It was one of the first organized amateur sports in New Bedford, and the Acushnet was rowed upon 125 to 150 years ago, he said.

The river is undergoing a massive cleanup, necessary because in the mid-1900s, industries tossed tons of hazardous material into New Bedford Harbor, creating one of the most polluted coves in the country. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has been dredging the river since 2000, will remain there for at least another decade.

EPA officials and representatives from the state’s Department of Health said at yesterday’s press conference that although sediment remains a concern, rowers participating in the sport under normal guidelines would not face undue health risks.

Lang wants to create a rowing haven that would stand out as one of the region’s best.

Nature has already laid out a perfectly calm mile-and-a-half course, north of the Coggshall Bridge, and a 1,200 meter course south of the bridge is the type that, if built from scratch, would cost tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars, rowing specialists say. The river has natural barriers to wind, and there is enough riverbank to accommodate the expansion of mixed-use and retail space, in addition to parking lots and viewing areas. The harbor is easily accessible, just off Interstate 195.

The city has already built an enhanced off-ramp from the highway, laid sidewalks, and installed street lighting, and a project is underway to restore the river banks.

Launch ramps have been built and groundbreaking for the boathouse, which will be based on designs by MIT students, is expected next year. The entire project is funded by private foundations, state grants, and in-kind donations from the city.

Matthew A. Morrissey, executive director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council, said the investment will probably see huge returns to the city, creating jobs and attracting spectators during special rowing events.

Bruce Smith, executive director of Community Rowing Inc., said he will visit New Bedford Schools in the coming months to get the word out that in addition to football, basketball, baseball, and other sports, rowing is an option.

In introducing rowing to schools in Boston, Smith said the largest hurdles that students have faced were transportation to the river and learning how to swim. “I think we may see that in New Bedford as well. I bring those rowing machines with me into the hallways, and I talk with athletic directors and coaches, to let them know that we aren’t looking for their top athletes, we want anyone.”

Chyrel Gallagher, 60, a Community Rowing member, said she got involved in the sport five years ago. After an early morning row yesterday on the Charles River, she said, “This is a wonderful sport for people of all ages to get involved in.”

http://www.boston.com/sports/outdoors/articles/2009/11/20/new_bedford_boston_rowing_group_partner_in_new_venture/

By DON CUDDY
doncuddy@s-t.com
November 16, 2009 12:00 AM

Published on SouthCoastToday.com

NEW BEDFORD - New Bedford has reached an agreement with a nonprofit group in Greater Boston, Community Rowing Inc., to develop a rowing program on the Acushnet River that will be open to area residents and public school students of all ages.

“There has been tremendous growth in the sport in recent years,” Mayor Scott W. Lang said in welcoming the agreement. “If you look at the upper harbor and the river, we have a natural resource here that is unique. We have been working for some time now to take advantage of our natural attributes, and this is another ingredient in the economic redevelopment and cleanup of the river.”

The city hopes to work with CRI to develop rowing as both a recreational activity and as an organized sport, with a view to possibly hosting regattas in the future, the mayor said. “CRI is a top-flight organization, and they will be invaluable in getting this program established.”

Community Rowing was started in the 1980s by rowers from the U.S. national team as a way to introduce rowing to the general public, Ryan Banks, director of operations for the nonprofit said. The organization is dedicated to the belief that rowing promotes “personal and community growth through teamwork, discipline, and physical fitness,” according to its mission statement.

“We have a full program for people of all ages and abilities, including adaptive rowing,” Banks said. “We had 1,700 people rowing this year.”

Membership in the club, which has a boathouse on the Charles River in Brighton, is open to all, he said. “If you sign up for a program, you can become a member.” Community Rowing offers an introductory class that runs for seven weeks for $95.

“The sessions are twice a week for about an hour and a half. That allows people to discover whether rowing is something they are really interested in pursuing,” Banks said. “Teamwork is a huge part of it.”

On Nov. 2, Community Rowing was named as USRowing’s Club of the Year from among more than 1,000 member organizations across the country.

According to Matthew Morrissey of the New Bedford Economic Development Council, Community Rowing will be the managing partner in a collaboration that includes the city, the Harbor Development Commission, the NBEDC and Community Boating in New Bedford.

“This is a phased project,” Morrissey said. “Community Rowing will help to design a program and attract funding. There is tremendous potential here to develop intramural programs in schools as well as walk up programs.”

Creating a crew course for four- and eight-person rowing shells is also envisaged, he said.

“Regattas will attract people to come and stay in the city,” Morrissey said.

In addition, Phase Two of the redevelopment of the Fairhaven Mills site includes plans for a boathouse and related facilities just north of Interstate 195.

“It’s part of the design for the repurposing of what was once an industrial waterway,” Morrissey said. Eventually, Community Boating will take over responsibility for the rowing program, he added.

Mayor Lang said that the program should become operational by next spring. “We already have some of the infrastructure,” he said. “The Seaport Inn and Marina in Fairhaven has already installed launching facilities.”

A press event has been scheduled for Thursday at the CRI boathouse to formally announce the agreement.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091116/NEWS/911160328/1018/OPINION

In Southwest Airline’s fall magazine, they featured Community Rowing as a an exciting destination in Boston, including an article, and an appearance on the city map. Coach Will Congram is also quoted.

Click on images to view full-size.

Agreement brings New Bedford’s rowing dream into focus

By CHARIS ANDERSON

canderson@s-t.com

November 20, 2009 12:00 AM

BOSTON - Mayor Scott W. Lang’s long-held dream to transform the Acushnet River into a center of rowing activity took a step closer to reality Thursday with the official announcement of a partnership between the New Bedford Economic Development Council and Community Rowing Inc.

“This is an economic stimulus type of project, a quality of life project,” Lang said. “I think that it reconnects New Bedford with an important part of its history.”

The agreement with Community Rowing was announced Thursday during a press conference at the organization’s new boathouse on the Charles River in Brighton.

“I see the Head of New Bedford and about 15 other races down there,” said Bruce Smith, executive director of Community Rowing.

Community Rowing is a nonprofit founded in 1985 with the goal of making the sport of rowing accessible to a broad range of people; more than 1,500 people row with the organization each year, according to information on its Web site.

“Rowing is a sport for everybody,” Smith said. “We’ve found that as soon as someone comes down to the water, they’re hooked.”

The first step in the new partnership, Smith said, is to develop a good plan for bringing rowing to New Bedford.

Community Rowing is working with a strategic planner from Harvard on that effort, according to Smith.

Additionally, the organization will begin writing grant proposals in an attempt to secure funding for at least one New Bedford-based staff person as well as equipment and other necessary items, according to Smith.

The required infrastructure to get people on the water is already in place - Chris Corkery, managing partner of Fairhaven’s Seaport Inn, has built an 80-foot-long launch dock that the rowing program can use - and it is possible that students will be rowing in New Bedford this spring, Smith said.

Planning for a boathouse on the former site of Fairhaven Mills is under way, and construction could begin within 12 to 18 months, according to Matthew Morrissey, executive director of the Economic Development Council.

Dredging of the river near Sawyer Street, the proposed site of the boathouse, has already been completed, said Kristin Decas, executive director of the city’s Harbor Development Commission.

If funding can be identified, it would be possible to build a launch dock on the site even before the boathouse is completed, she said.

Over the last three years, the city has worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection to assess the environmental issues along the proposed course and to determine the feasibility of using the Upper Harbor for rowing.

An independent evaluation of the harbor concluded that there is no significant risk for rowers.

Additionally, the city will work with the Board of Health and the EPA over the next several months to develop safety protocols similar to those used on other urban waterways, a release stated.

While students won’t be out rowing until spring, it’s possible that elite rowers might pop up on the river much sooner.

Unlike the Charles River, the Acushnet River does not freeze during the winter, which allows people to row on it year-round, according to Smith.

To keep training on the water throughout the winter, elite rowers from the Northeast have had to travel to warmer states, such as Florida or California, Smith said.

“Now they don’t have to go that far,” he said.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091120/NEWS/911200347

Community Rowing Named 2009 USRowing Club of the Year

Monday, November 02, 2009

Community Rowing, Inc. has been named the 2009 USRowing Club of the Year, the organization announced on Monday. More than 1,050 USRowing member organizations across the country were eligible for the award, which is based on a points system focusing on the following criteria: performance, community outreach, service to rowing, USRowing participation, technology and communications, and safety. Having previously won the award in 2004, CRI became the first two-time winner of the award since its inception in 2002. “I am delighted that all of the extraordinary work by our volunteers and staff has been recognized by USRowing with this prestigious award,” said CRI Executive Director Bruce Smith. “CRI strives to deliver excellent rowing at every level, from complete beginner to national champions to physically and mentally disabled veterans returning to the United States after serving their country overseas. We’re very excited about the potential rowing has to change lives for the better, and with the help of Glenn Merry and USRowing, we are excited about sharing our sport with a growing population of participants and fans.” CRI was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the belief that the sport of rowing provides unique abilities to promote personal and community growth through teamwork, discipline, and physical fitness. Since its inception, CRI has become one of the largest rowing programs in the United States. Located on the Charles River, CRI was the first public rowing club in Boston. It delivers after-school programs to urban youth, provides health and fitness programs to physically and mentally challenged members of the community, and promotes health and fitness for the entire community. Programs range from one-time learn-to-row classes to year-round memberships. The organization currently has about 30 programs, more than 3,000 participants, and a fleet of more than 170 sweep and sculling shells. For more information, visit Community Rowing’s Web site at www.communityrowing.org. As the 2009 USRowing Club of the Year, Community Rowing will be honored on Friday, December 4, at the USRowing Annual Awards Reception in Tempe, Ariz. USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s Official Supplier is Boathouse Sports; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing; and its Preferred Printer is Sport Graphics Printing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation.

http://www.usrowing.org/News_Media/PressReleases/detail.aspx?nws_lKey=772

Great 8 on Overdrive

FRIDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2009 09:52, row2k.com

by Janit Stahl , photo by Peter Spurrier

The men of the Great 8 already had a marathon two days when they arrived at Community Rowing, Inc.’s Boathouse in Brighton late afternoon Thursday October 15. Iztok Cop (Slovenia), Ondrej Synek (Czech Republic), Marcel Hacker (Germany), Mahe Drysdale (New Zealand) Warren Anderson (USA), Lassse Karonen (Sweden) Allan Campbell (Great Britain) and Tim Maeyens (Belgium), collectively the “Great 8″ and individually the best scullers in the world, were at CRI’s boathouse to share their rowing knowledge and enthusiasm with a busload of Boston City schools students, and several adaptive rowers from CRI’s ongoing outreach programs. After arriving Wednesday in Boston, Coach BIll Barry had them rowing three sessions, (”outings” in British understatement), each about 10k in length on Thursday, then on to public press sessions and CRI.

CRI’s Outreach programs are the foundation of the club, and when the Great 8 was scheduled to come, thanks to the generosity of Peter Dreissigacker of Concept 2, they wanted to connect this awesome International squad of scullers in some meaningful way to the rowing community and to Boston.  CRI’s Executive Director Bruce Smith, prior to the event, explained how this kind of outreach is the core of CRI, where “everyone should have a chance to try rowing.” The amount of rowers passing through Harry Parker Boathouse on Thursday is a testament to the hustle at CRI.With only one year in the new boathouse, they are making a statement with a modus operandi from which the somewhat-exclusive rowing community could all learn.

Despite their jetlag, 30k of hard work, and press junkets, the Great 8 boys seemed pretty sturdy, solid and ready for more. It could be the pillows and high thread count sheets at the Liberty Hotel, their digs for the week, or it could just be that these are really tough guys. Or it could be the meals they have to eat during this kind of training. “These guys can eat a lot,” shares the diminutive coxswain Ali Williams, she adds, “they are consuming about 10,000 calories a day.” For the record, there are 6 guys in the engine room of this craft that weigh “over 100 kilos,” shares Alan Campbell. (That’s 220 pounds USA and there is no fat to trim here.) Another ‘insider’ name for this segment of the boat: “The 100-kilos club.” That leaves Maeyens at bow and Cop at stroke looking small in comparison to these goliaths.

It is also Campbell, that when asked how he likes the States, says, “Well, it would be really nice if somewhere really hot invited us to come…like to do so coastal rowing in Hawaii?” The others guys offered their suggestions as well, from the press room table: Bahamas, Bermuda.. and a really short race, they offer.   After three rows in bitter 42 degree weather, slightly windy and some drizzle, all of the guys in the boat agreed, though weather is familiar to many of them. It was snowing in Sweden when Karonen left.

If you ask the Great 8 why they are rowing together, their first response is, “it is fun.” This from Karonen, Synek and others. But it also is a break from a grueling training schedule, and a chance to challenge themselves in this new way. Even at the elite level, there was bound to be some rough spots when they first get in a boat together. “I am bow so I see it all, sometimes a smile a little bit but I keep quite,” says Tim Maeyens. Who is the one who messes up the most? Silence, then Warren Anderson takes one for the team and offers with a laugh, “I think it’s me!” Anderson is the youngest in the boat at only 26, Synek is 27. Synek, who has the hardest time with English interviews, shares that “I like this because it is a new experience,” says the Olympic silver medalist at Beijing in 2008, and “it is so much fun.” But, after a little chucking among the guys as the remember training sessions, Hacker gets to the core of how these guys think, “It is simple, first on the finish line in a single, and when we are 8 people in a long boat…first to the finish line.”

“And it is not like we are different people from different countries when we row together.. we are friends,” adds Maeyens. (who may have trying to make amends for his comments about what he sees in bow.) And they enjoy there time together immensely. It is unlikely this talented group will be together again. “It is difficult to arrange all having them all in one place,” says Barry, who coordinates a lot of this with Phil Rowley from Great Britain. To celebrate their periodic reunions (they have rowed only in London so far, this is their first trip overseas to row as a team) they share meals, celebrating that they are founding members of one of the most exclusive fraternities in the World.

What is the post- training meal? “Meat.” says one. “It depends how many beers we are allowed,” says another.   Apparently there is some guidelines for consumption for these guys, and they all look to Barry with the word on Thursday’s protocol. “It is a one-beer night,” he responds. Unphased, Hacker motions with his hands on the table a glass the size of a long-stem flower vase, “one beer, about this size.”  In response to Hacker, Barry says, “well, you have to control these guys because if you say it is a one beer night, well, there is other alcohol.”

The beer, or any size or number, does not seem to affect thier strength. They were asked, “does anyone say this is too much work?” (after 30k jetlagged) and there was utter silence. Either no one wil admit to fatigue, or these guys are machines. “We bent a rudder today,” said Williams, who says these guys have so much power it is hard to control the boat. They have been rowing in a starboard-stroke-rigged Filippi with Concept 2 oars here in Boston.

Drydale is the only one who continues on a rowing Odyssey after Boston. For Mahe it is off the Philadephia for the Head of the Schuylkill, also to Switzerland, and Turin, Italy for the SIlverSkiff, and two regattas in London. Drysdale is “Athlete of the Month” for World Rowing, and he was asked what he does for jet lag: “As soon as I hit the ground I start training, I don’t get affected much.” So far in Boston, Drysdale and his Great 8 pals have proven that jet lag is nothing to these champions as their day was not done.

After speaking to the press, all of the guys went on to their assignments at the CRI boathouse. Cop, Karonen, Synek, Hacker and Drysdale coached the outreach rowers from Boston City Schools, Maeyens and Anderson went to the cold docks to row with area Adaptive Rowers. Concept 2 set up an erg race, and the local students, who had just learned how to erg from the best in the World, took shifts during a 2k piece, with each of the Great 8 taking a spin on the erg. Young and enormously strong, Synek was looking like an easy paddle at 1:25 splits, then he stepped it up a bit. He shares that he has pulled at 1:12 splits. Karonen rowed feet out, with the students struggling to stabilize his massive legs in the foot stretchers. (Didn’t really happen.) 

Go figure: Mahe Drysdale’s team won. Seems like stacking that team with the current World Champion (in record time) was effective. 

Anderson, Campbell and Maeyens rowed with the Adaptive Rowing Program at CRI, yet another row on a 30k day, but they were all smiles.

More on the Great 8 during the Head of the Charles, always check www.rowingnews.com, facebook and twitter for pictures, videos and updates!

by Janit Stahl

http://rowingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=502:great8onoverdrive&catid=908:eliteregattas