Saturday, June 20th, the Chester River Rowing Club will host its Third Annual Pig Row’st fundraiser at the Leila Hynson Pavilion, Wilmer Park, from five o’clock to as long as the fun and food lasts. Up The River Café and members of the Rowing Club will cater pit-cooked pork and chicken and homemade desserts. The Fly By Nite Band will provide live music until 9 o’clock. Guests will also be able to get a tour of the Washington College Boathouse.
The Chester River Rowing Club was founded in the early 1980s by a number of townspeople who wanted to continue their hobby after high school and college. With the help of the Washington College Boathouse, where the club stores its boats, membership fees have been low and local rowers have enjoyed the Chester River for thirty years. Today, the club has dozens of members ranging from age fifteen to seventy-eight.
Members enjoy the social aspect of the Rowing Club, but anyone who thinks that grilling, drinking, and talking is all this jolly bunch does is wrong. Although some have joined the club to simply get fit while enjoying the Chester’s wildlife and esthetics, many race competitively.
The Rowing Club races teams from all over the East Coast. On June 27 and 28 some members of the Rowing Club will compete in the US Rowing Southeast Regionals in Aiken, SC. A bigger event is the Diamond States Masters at St. Andrews School in Middletown, DE on July 26, when the club will compete in several categories. The last big race of the summer will be Masters Nationals, 13-17 August, at Cooper River, NJ.
After a short break the Rowing Club will do head races of about three miles long in the fall. Spring races are only 1000 meters. The racing season extends until mid-November.
Masters Rowing (for twenty-one and over) is the fastest growing segment and typically has races of 1000 meters. Categories include all-female boats, all-male boats, mixed boats, singles, doubles, fours, and eights. Most members compete in more than one category.
Now that this year’s novice class graduated after ten training sessions in May and June, they will join the intermediate program based on skill level. Practice times are 5:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings at 7:30am, although many choose to practice on their own time.
So what draws people to rowing? “There really is something for everybody at the rowing club,” Barbara MacBeth said. “Even if you are not a rower,” quipped the wife of a regular member.
“Every team sport claims to be the ultimate team sport,” Boat House Director and co-founder John Wagner said. “With rowing, it is a combination of strength, skill, and cooperation. If you have the strength, but lack the skill or do not cooperate well, you are not going to win any races. When everything comes together, the boat just slides across the water; it’s very captivating,” Wagner continued. “It takes a lot of time and practice, but the end result is a rush. Other people just row because they like to be on the water, get fit, and socialize.”
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