Whitman Crew Introduction to Crew Meeting

1
Whitman CrewIntroduction to Crew Meeting

• September 1, 2009

2
Agenda

• Welcome
• Whitman Crew Overview
• Meet the Coaches
• What is Rowing All About?
• Hear from Alumni Parents and Current Rowers
• Description of Novice Rower Orientation Program
• Details on How to Sign Up
• On-line Registration, Swim Test, Health Forms
  Waivers, etc.

3
Whitman Crew History and Organization

•  
•  Originated in1985 as a parent-sponsored team
  sport for students attending Walt Whitman High
  School.
• Whitman Crew is considered a club sport since
  the program is not administered by the school. It
  is a club with an affiliation to the school.
• We receive no funding from the county. The
  program is funded entirely by program fees and
  donations from families and local businesses.
• The Whitman Crew program is managed and run at
  the direction of the Board of Directors of Walt
  Whitman Crew Boosters, Inc. Board members are
  typically parents of rowers, elected in late
  Spring to one-year terms. Walt Whitman Crew
  Boosters, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) organization.

4
Did You Know?

• Whitman Crew is one of the largest athletic and
  most successful programs at Whitman. Rowing out
  of Thompsons Boat Center in Georgetown on the
  Potomac River, we had nearly 100 athletes
  competing in area regattas during the spring
  season.
• Rowers are among the best athletes of any sport,
  as rowing combines strength, endurance,
  flexibility, and mental discipline.
• Whitman Crew is more than athletics its about
  character development. Rowers build muscles,
  endurance, and character by learning the value of
  persistence, dedication, and teamwork. By working
  together as one unit, rowers achieve more than
  they can individually.
• Whitman rowers have traditionally maintained
  higher GPAs than the overall student body at
  Whitman. Whitman rowers develop excellent time
  management and life skills, which are useful not
  only in high school but also in college and
  beyond
• Rowing can help students get into top colleges.
  The past several years graduating classes
  included acceptances from universities such as
  Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the University of
  Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Stanford.

5
Who are the Coaches?

• Head Coach Kirk Shipley
• Novice Coaches
• Novice Mens Coach Josh Miles
• Novice Womens Coach Kirk Shipley
• Varsity Coaches
• Varsity Mens Coach Sal Assenza
• Varsity Womens Coach Kirk Shipley
• Assistant Coaches
• Katie Might, Lee Rumpf, Megan Saylor Beth
  Treseder

6
Program Size

•  
• The Walt Whitman Crew program is one of the
  largest and most successful athletic programs at
  Whitman.
• Made up of about 100 student athletes.
• The varsity squads have about 60 rowers and the
  novice/freshman program has approximately 40
  rowers.
• Roughly split evenly between men and women
•  
•  

7
We Successfully Compete Against Some of the Best
Teams in the Country

• Local Regattas
• We successfully compete against various DC metro
  area schools, including BCC, Bishop Ireton,
  Blair, DeMatha GDS, Gonzaga, Holy Cross, Holton
  Arms, NCS, St. Albans, St. Johns, Seton, Walter
  Johnson, Washington-Lee, Wilson and others
• Delaware and Philadelphia Area Regattas
• These regattas include various schools from the
  Delmarva area plus numerous Philadelphia, NJ, and
  NY schools including Chaminade, Holy Spirit,
  Mainland Regional, St. Josephs Prep, Winter Park
  and numerous other highly competitive teams.

8
Our Season(s)

• Novice Rower Orientation
• a 6 week introductory program for new rowers
  which runs M-F from mid September through end of
  October.
• Fall Rowing
• a 6-8 week program for rowers who are not
  participating in other fall sports or competitive
  rowing programs (i.e.,TBC). Practices are 3 days
  a week and some Saturdays. The team generally
  competes in 3-5 regattas on selected Saturdays
  and/or Sundays (Varsity only).
• Winter Conditioning
• runs M-F from early December through early
  February, focusing on strength and conditioning.
  Offered free of charge to all program
  participants who are not participating in another
  winter sport (Novice and Varsity)
• Spring Rowing
• our primary season, which runs from late February
  through Mid-May includes 8-10 regattas on
  selected Saturdays and/or Sundays. Practices are
  M-F and most Saturdays when the team does not
  have regattas. There is practice over spring
  break. (Novice and Varsity)

9
Where Are the Regattas?

• Local regattas, where we compete against MD and
  DC teams, are generally held in Georgetown, at
  Washington Harbor, or in Anacostia at Potomac
  Park.
• We generally compete against the Virginia teams
  on Occoquan Reservoir at Sandy Run Park in
  Lorton, VA.
• The MD State Championships are held in Baltimore
• Each year, we participate in out of town regattas
  in Delaware and Philadelphia, including the
  Stotesbury Cup, which is the largest high school
  regatta in the country.
• In the past, the varsity team has had the
  opportunity to compete in Boston at the famous
  Head of the Charles regatta as well as in
  Princeton, NJ and Oak Ridge, TN at the Scholastic
  Rowing Association National Championship.

10
Where Do We Practice?

• We row out of Thompsons Boat Center, located
  between Georgetown and the Kennedy Center.
  Roundtrip bus transportation is provided between
  Whitman and Thompsons Boat Center M-F, except
  during spring break.
• Although water practices can and are held in the
  rain, in the event of severely inclement weather
  or unsafe water conditions, the coaches will make
  the decision to have a land practice either at
  Whitman or at the boathouse.
• Land practices include running, weight lifting
  and..every rowers favorite pastime..erg-ing
• An erg, or ergometer, is an indoor rowing machine
  designed to simulate the movements a rower makes
  on the water. They are used extensively for
  conditioning and also for gauging the strength
  and fitness of each rower.
• During winter conditioning, practices are held at
  Whitman.
• On some weekends, the team has practice runs at
  Battery Kemble Park.

11
What Types of Boats are Used?

• Whitman Crew participates in sweep rowing.
• In sweep boats, each rower has one oar. These
  shells can have a coxswain---a person who steers
  the shell (using a rudder) and urges the rowers
  on.
• Whitman generally races eight-oared shells these
  are powered by sweep rowers with a coxswain.
  Eights are 50 ft long and weigh about 250
  pounds.
• At times, the Varsity team has also raced a Coxed
  Four (4) which consists of four sweep rowers
  with a coxswain.
• The word shell is often used in reference
  to the boats because the hull is only about 1/8"
  to 1/4" thick to make it as light as possible.

12
Novice Rower Orientation Program Overview

• Whitman Novice Rower Orientation is an intensive
  6 week program where novice rowers are taught the
  basics of rowing.
• The program runs M-F from 9/14 through 10/23.
• On Monday 9/14 and Tuesday 9/15, the Novice
  rowers will have basic rowing orientation at
  Whitman from 400 530 pm.
• Starting on Wednesday 9/16 through Friday 10/23,
  the rowers will practice at Thompsons Boat
  Center in Georgetown. We provide roundtrip bus
  transportation between Whitman and Thompsons.
• The coaches will be scheduling a parent
  roundtable meeting in early October, at the
  mid-point of the program, to answer questions and
  review program status.
• On Sunday afternoon October 25th, at the
  conclusion of their fall training, the Novice
  team will hold an exhibition regatta at
  Thompsons Boat Center
• Program Cost 595 (includes transportation) .
  Registration is due by 9/11.