 Rowing is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and for good reason. This intense, full-body workout develops fitness, confidence, and friendships, yet is so kind to the body that many athletes will row and race well into their 80s!
Adult Programs are called “Masters.” Our spring/summer session runs from March through August. Classes meet for ninety minutes and are offered two, three, or five days per week. To help steer rowers into appropriately suited programs, we have designated each class with a skill level: novice, intermediate, or advanced. Upon final enrollment, coaches will use these designations along with the preferences and goals expressed by the rowers to implement training programs tailored to the needs of each individual class.
Sport, exercise, social interaction, private accomplishment, meditation, fury... rowing is all these things. People of all ages and motivations love this sport. Rowers are some of the most fit athletes in the world. This full body activity improves strength, endurance and balance without risk of contact injuries or undue torque and pressure on joints.
- Learn to Row: New arrivals to our beloved sport are encouraged take one of our monthly Learn-to-Row programs. Enjoy a “taste test” of rowing while making terrific new friends.
We offer a Stillwater training barge that is a great tool for teaching the skills of the sport. The oversized vessel seats 8 rowers and a coach. It is great for introducing new athletes to the sport and easing any jitters about being on the water. Coaches train up close with a keen eye for technique so improvements can be made that much faster.
- Single-Scull Training: Whether competitive or recreational, many rowers prefer the independence and symmetry of rowing a single. “1x’s only” classes allow advanced scullers to enjoy both the autonomy of the 1x and the competitive push of a training group.
- Recreational Programs: Improve fitness while enjoying the camaraderie of crew and the serenity of the water. Using a casual approach to lineups and practice, recreational classes provide instruction and motivation without pressure to race. These classes double as a stepping stone for novice rowers as they develop into competitive athletes.
- Competitive Team: These programs develop fitness and technique that translate into speed on the water. Expect to form bonds and reach goals you never thought possible as you explore the “ultimate team sport.”
- Private Lessons: Private lessons are available and offer an extra edge. Single scull or double scull lessons may be purchased individually or as part of a package. Call our office to schedule one-on-one time with your choice of coaches; 661-4033.
Results Notice
6/05/10, 20 of our Master rowers, and along with 2 rowers and a coxswain from our Junior program, traveled to Derby, CT to compete in the Derby Sweeps and Sculls Regatta, our first major regatta of the Summer season. Greenwich raced to victory in almost every race they entered, and in many cases posting the fastest times of their category, while bringing home the medals they all strive for.
Our Junior boys, Matt Lonski and Greg Riddell, got things rolling with a 2nd place finish in the Open 2x, with a time of 3:28.80, 6/10ths of a second behind the winner. Their time would have won the second heat in this Open category by more than 2 seconds. The Open category consists of some juniors, but mostly seasoned college and post-collegiate rowers. Lonski and Riddell were the captains of Greenwich Crew’s Junior Boys team this past spring and wanted to test their speed before heading off to Cincinnati this weekend to compete on the national stage at the US Youth National Championships. This was certainly a good tune-up and preview for their up-coming race in Ohio.
Now for the masters racing! Masters races are run in age categories and, when boats in a single race straddle age categories, are adjusted based on an official algorithm accounting for age and boat type. Brains and brawn are required to succeed at the masters level! Always successful at both, Mike Tebay (64) won the Masters 1x with a blistering time of 3:19.50. The next boat was 13 seconds behind! Mike not only turned in the fastest time for the Masters Singles (by a long shot!), but it was the fourth fastest time for all boats in the regatta, with the other boats being 8+’s and a Greenwich’s Men’s 4x! Mike was a member of that Greenwich 4x (Meinhard Hausleitner, Tim Wike, Mike Tebay, Damir Durkovic) that beat his 1x time, and which won the Masters 4x by a 10 second margin with a finishing time of 3:12.80. Watch for good things from our Men’s 4x’s all season, as well as for each one of these scullers.
The Master’s Men 4+ of Meinhard Hausleitner, Mike Tebay, Peter Oudheusden, Hank Pohl, with Liz Miller from our Junior Boys team coxing, defended our title from last year and raced to victory in a time of 3:27.13, powering away from the field down the stretch to the cheers of their fellow masters.
The 2x’s, on both the Women’s and Men’s side, saw only gold in their races, while posting the fastest times for their respective categories while they were at it. Kristen Erickson and Marie Kruger won their race in a time of 3:55.25, more than 2 seconds faster than the next fastest time in all the heats. In a later heat of the women’s double, Katie Blankley and Christina DelSavio also took gold with a time of 4:10.99. On the Men’s, side Mike Tebay and Chris Ives posted the fastest time of the men’s 2xs with a 3:19.96. The blazing fast duo of Tim Wike and Damir Durkovic, recovered from a buoy mishap off the start, and battled back from 2 length deficit to edge out some local young guns from Norwalk River Rowing Association.
In the very competitive category of the Women’s Masters 4x races, Kristen Erickson, Katie Blankley, Christina DelSavio, Marie Kruger posted the fastest time of the day with a 3:34.86. This foursome will clearly be a force in whatever regatta they enter, so we hope to see more of this line-up in the up-coming races.
In our Mixed Masters 4x, two Greenwich crews battled it out with each other and a game Norwalk crew. In a tight finish, the Greenwich 4x of Kristen Erickson, Rob Slocum, Chris Ives, and Marie Kruger were able to edge out the other Greenwich 4x (Tim Wike, Katie Blankley, Christina DelSavio, Meinhard Hausleitner) and Norwalk, in what turned out to be a dead heat for 2nd place. This was a barn-burner of a race from start to finish that left both participants and spectators with great sense of “this is what it is all about”.
The Masters Men’s 8+ saw a rain delay during the middle of their heats, which when racing resumed, left only the Greenwich Crew (due to scratches) to race down the course in a race against the clock. It was a nice opportunity for the team to pull together in a kind of “exhibition” row down the course and end the day on a fun note, with medals as their reward!
Filling out Greenwich Crew’s lineup were 5 novice rowers. For Tina Feldman, Maureen Bailie, and Neal Simpson, it was their true novice debut. It was Maria Arone’s 3rd race and Deb Williams’s 2nd. They accomplished the goals set for them and showed a great deal of promise in making Greenwich Crew even more successful in the future!
All in all, a fun and successful day for our Masters (and Juniors), and hopefully a good indication that Greenwich is on track to once again do well through the Summer season, as they set their sights on the Masters Nationals (8/12-8/15) and World Masters (9/2-9/5).
Key:
1x = single scull
2x = double sculls
4x = quadruple sculls
4+ = four w/ coxswain (sweep boat)
8+ = eight (sweep boat)
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