PARENTS FAQ

Rowing is a spring sport, but rowers are highly encouraged to also participate in winter conditioning, so they can hit the ground running when the season officially begins in early March. Winter conditioning is five days a week at the high school, running from approximately 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with some exceptions.  

When the Spring Season begins, practice is every weekday, moving to the water when weather permits. Those practices tend to get longer as the sun sets later.

Regattas occur every Saturday beginning in mid-March and continuing into early May. Find out more about regattas in the Parent Survival Guide.

In short, yes. Naturally, students who have conflicting school activities that necessitate occasional absences are accommodated if they give advance notice. They should coordinate with the coaches to keep them informed. However, it’s important to remember that your rower is a member of a small team in a boat. When one rower is out, a substitute must be made or the boat can’t go on the water that day.  

This is a great question! Most parents of new rowers find their way into a carpool. This is especially important when a parent or an upperclass rower with a license must transport your student to the river in time for after school practice. We’ve found that the best strategy is to help connect parents who live somewhat near each other. With a few rowers in each carpool, you can decide amongst yourselves who is best positioned to get the rowers to the river and home in the evening. We will do our best to help the carpools find each other, and anyone with a major issue should ask for help. We have been in your position and will do our best to make connections among the parents so they can arrange for carpools. 

The only reason this team can exist is because of the efforts of supportive families. This experience is what we make it. What we ask of you is that you do your absolute best to support the team in whatever way you can. There are myriad opportunities to pitch in, and we will strive to share all of those options with you and give you the support you need to get up and running. We were new at this once, too! We understand that it’s intimidating to volunteer, but we are all we’ve got and we need you.

We’ve got good news. Absolutely, the answer is yes. In fact, the beauty of high school rowing is that it’s one of the few sports where almost everyone starts in their teen years. For the first year, your rower will be known as a novice, and will row in a boat with other novices. You will be amazed by the growth in your rower by the end of even one season. All are welcome and encouraged.

This is completely normal. Rowing is a highly specialized sport that many of us have never experienced before coming to an informational interest meeting. Several of your board members had novice rowers just last year. We get it! No question is too basic. We assure you that you will be vastly more comfortable by the end of your first season, and nobody expects you to know about rowing as a new parent. All we ask is that you be willing to learn.