Category: Celebration of Rowing

Oak Hollow Lake, High Point – Following a parent mingle with coffee and donuts, Connie Curri (Charlotte’s mom) opened the Fall Parent Meeting for High Point Rowing Club on August 20.

Connie outlined several changes to the team’s travel arrangements this year. To reduce the burden placed on any one parent, the team would ask for two parent volunteers to ride the bus with the team, with different parents volunteering for each team trip. Parents are required on the bus to provide supervision and to also offer independence from club coaches in the case that issues arise.  Additional parent volunteers would also be needed to prepare lunches at regattas.

When it comes to team travel, parents can choose to have their child ride the team bus and stay in hotel rooms with the team or drive their child themselves and have them stay with them.

October 8: Head of the James (Richmond, VA) – Middle School included.

November 5-6: Head of the Hooch (Chattanooga, TN) – High School rowers.

November 12: Head of the South (Augusta, SC) – High School rowers.

TEAM UNIFORMS: New rowers will race in High Point t-shirts and should purchase navy spandex shorts in the Fall (about $20 from Target). A newly designed unisuit will be introduced in the spring season for all rowers.

MEDICAL FORMS – These will now be done ONLINE. An email will go out to parents with a link to the form.

Connie then asked parents to introduce themselves and say who their child is and where they go to school. Following this Connie introduced head coach Gene Kininmonth.

Gene stressed that safety of the rowers at all times is the first priority of High Point Rowing Club. “If we are not sure, we stay on shore.” Gene pointed out that the strict safety protocols that the club uses at Oak Hollow Lake will be maintained when the team attends regattas, pointing out that at Dogwood Regatta last spring the club had held its varsity crews onshore for finals when thunder was heard across the course, even though regatta officials continued racing.

With safety first and foremost in mind, our MISSION STATEMENT is that High Point Rowing Club is a recreational rowing club where we strive to meet every athlete’s most competitive personal goals.

“Each year my goal for the club is not just to be better than the last but the best ever. This year that is a bigger challenge than ever with so many recent rowers graduating, and that makes it exciting and a challenge i am looking forward to,” said Gene.

“This year we have some terrific, hard working young rowers on our squad. And the best way we can support them is by helping to recruit a strong team. The club relies almost entirely on Facebook for marketing. Remarkably, we have no connections to any of the public schools in High Point. Any direction you could offer to make introductions to High school guidance counselors or PE instructors, or athletic directors would be invaluable.”

Gene then discussed the new developments for the club.

Coaching staff updates:
With the departure of Allie Davis, Gene began an immediate search for a new coach for the varsity girls squad. However, at almost the same time the NCAA changed its rules to permit university women’s rowing programs to hire a 4th assistant coach to its staff. Previously they were restricted to only three. This has lead to a hiring binge for rowing coaches making the market for available coaches extremely small and the cost to hire an appropriate coach significantly more. Meanwhile, the club’s revenues fell significantly over the summer. Masters membership dropped 50% from the previous year and youth summer membership was down as well. Gene attributed this to a hotter summer than usual and an improved economy where families were travelling for vacation more. Gene will continue to search for a new coach and expects to announce the hire  in time for the spring season.

Greensboro Crew: 
Last month we started Greensboro Crew. Gene went into the thinking behind this decision:

• A large percentage of High Point rowers were travelling 35 minutes or more each way on the roads each day. Many of these students are from Greensboro. This is not a way to build a successful program.
• Local competition. We need more local races and the media profile that accompanies local competition.

How will Greensboro work with High Point?  We are all one club but with separate local identities. We are each other’s competition when we race each other several times a year. We will come together as crew mates for outside competition. Team GHP or GHP Rowing or whatever catches on. In 12 months we see the best rowers from both locations merging at a special camp after the regular spring season to form super crews for SE Regionals to qualify for Nationals.

From an operational standpoint each base will operate separate books. So, when you make a donation to High Point Rowing Club your money will be invested right here and gifts to Greensboro Crew your money will stay invested there.

CREW ADVISORY BOARD
This Fall the club will be supported by an advisory board. This will be a working board comprised of coaches, masters, and parents who are engaged in the volunteer efforts of the club. For example, it will include our Celebration of Rowing co-chairs, Jackie King and Caren York, our High Point Autumn Rowing Festival regatta co-chairs Mandy Greene and Jeanne MacPherson, our parent volunteers such as Connie and others who will be riding the bus to regattas and feeding the rowers and coaches.

The advisory board is expected to meet at least 4-5 times each year to provide counsel and feedback on the club’s projects, events and other endeavors.

Following brief questions the Fall parent meeting concluded. The Club would like to express its thanks to Jackie King for providing coffee from her High Point McDonalds restaurant for the meeting.