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Youth Power Camp Scheduled for August 1-5

Oak Hollow Lake: High Point Rowing Club will host a one-week Power Camp for Triad area high school students, who have already competed one year in another sport. This fast-paced one-week camp is designed for students seeking to ultimately play an NCAA sport in college and earn a potential scholarship. (Statistics)

NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN ROWING IS REQUIRED.

High Point's youth eight at the Clemson Sprints regatta in South Carolina.
High Point’s youth eight at the Clemson Sprints regatta in South Carolina.

During each session, participants will learn the fundamentals of rowing. Potential rowers will learn about the sport, equipment, and terminology, as well as the training required to compete on a collegiate varsity rowing squad. All athletes will participate in both land and water workouts.

“This is a focussed one week clinic. Students will learn what it takes to get a scholarship into a university like Harvard, Princeton or Carolina and how to best position themselves for success,” says chief coach Gene Kininmonth, who previously coached at the University of Southern California.

Kininmonth says that many high school students reach their maximum potential in other sports and realize they are just not going to reach the levels needed to play in college or perhaps have been injured and unable to continue other sports. “Rowing is the perfect sport for these talented athletes to transfer to because the sport is largely injury free and the opportunities to compete in college are so great.”

• No experience necessary
• Learn teamwork & camaraderie
• Develop insights into the college recruiting process
• Largest and most successful youth rowing program in the Triad

Dates & Times:  

Monday, August 1
7:15am – 11:00am at ‘The Erg Room’ at 124C Wade Street, Jamestown.

Tuesday through Friday:
7:15am-9:15am at Oak Hollow Lake at 3700 Waterview Road, High Point.

Cost: $110 which must be paid by check in advance (includes a crew T-shirt) – No refunds.

Register: Register here and click here for directions. Space for this rowing camp is limited so participants are advised to register early to avoid disappointment. All students should be confident swimmers for safety and a parent must sign the Waiver and Swim form, which can be downloaded on the Registration page.

More Info: High Point Youth Rowing Program in the News
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Youth “Learn to Row” Clinic on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

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High point Rowing Club will host a 3-day Learn to Row Clinic for students entering 8th grade or above at any Triad area school this week from Wednesday through Friday. The clinic will be held at Oak Hollow Lake each day from 4:30pm – 6:15pm.

No prior experience in rowing is needed. Please click here for directions. Total cost for the three day clinic is $35.

“The purpose of this rowing clinic is to give students the opportunity to try out rowing for the first time before they go back to school. This will give them enough experience to help make a determination as to whether this is the sport they wish to do in the Fall semester,” says chief coach Gene Kininmonth.

Participants should wear flip flops (not running shoes) and general running attire suitable for the weather. Do not wear baggy shorts as these will get caught in the moving seats in the boat.

Participants must be confident swimmers as a safety precaution and should have their parents sign the waiver and swim form on the Register page on this website and bring it with them to the first session with their payment.

Rowing is now the fastest growing sport in the Triad with many students switching from other sports such as swimming, cross country, and soccer. Click here for some of the many reasons why high school students should try out the sport. The average college rowing scholarship of High Point Rowing Club’s high school seniors in 2014 was $29,000.

Students wishing to participate for the first time should email Coach Gene Kininmonth at contact@highpointrowing.com in advance.

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High Point Women Sweep Charlotte

High Point Rowing Club swept the women’s events in dominant fashion at the Charlotte Erg Sprints on Saturday with championship victories in the women’s varsity, varsity lightweight and novice indoor rowing events.

Indoor rowing competitions take place on rowing machines, called ergometers, and the Charlotte Erg Sprints, hosted by the Charlotte Youth Rowing program, is now the most popular competition of its kind in North Carolina.

In the Women’s Novice (1st year high school rower) event, High Point’s Aliute Udoka won the championship in a time of 7 minutes 56 seconds.

“Novice rowers are so new to the sport you really never know what to expect,” said head coach Gene Kininmonth. “Aliute’s performance was more on par with a very experienced high school varsity rower and yet she is still a sophomore. There is no question that Aliute has a wonderful career ahead of her in rowing.”

Aliute Udoka with her father, Silvanus, after winning the women's novice indoor rowing championship in Charlotte.
Aliute Udoka with her father, Silvanus, after winning the women’s novice indoor rowing championship in Charlotte.

The next win for High Point came in the Women’s Varsity Lightweight event when Kim Pollard led from wire to wire to row to victory in 8 minutes 35 seconds.

“It felt amazing to win!” said an exhausted Pollard after the race. “I felt like all of my winter training had paid off and made a huge difference in my performance on the erg. In addition to the erg, I’ve mainly been doing crossfit workouts to incorporate into functional fitness.”

A junior at Northwest Guilford High School, Pollard says she is now looking forward to the spring boat racing season and winning medals with her High Point crew mates.

High Point rower Kim Pollard led from wire to wire to win the Women's Varsity Lightweight Championship at the Charlotte Erg Sprints.
High Point rower Kim Pollard led from wire to wire to win the Women’s Varsity Lightweight Championship at the Charlotte Erg Sprints.

In the final event of the day, High Point’s Catherine Thompson put on the most dominating exhibition of rowing seen at the competition when she won the Women’s Varsity Championship in a time of 7 minutes 32 seconds, besting her previous personal best erg time by 11 seconds.

“Catherine Thompson is truly one of the founders of High Point Rowing Club and she will leave a legacy of inspiration with this team when she goes to row for the Wisconsin Badgers in the Fall.” says head coach Gene Kininmonth. “Catherine was a member of our very first crew. Her first stroke propelled our team into existence and her first boat race victory was this team’s historic first victory. Now, here she is today, continuing to be such a positive force for her team and performing at a level she can be so proud of.”

A senior at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, Thompson represented her high school in volleyball and Track & Field before making the switch to rowing. On Saturday in Charlotte she led the field right from the outset, setting a blistering pace that none of her competitors could follow.


In the men’s competition in Charlotte, High Point Rowing Club was represented in the Men’s Novice event by Josh Dasnoit and Adam Alt, with Alt finishing in third place with a personal best time of 7 minutes 29 seconds.

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High Point Rower Commits to Oklahoma

High Point Rowing Club’s Katie Ognovich has made a verbal commitment to row for the University of Oklahoma, head coach Gene Kininmonth has announced. Ognovich has been offered a full-ride scholarship to row for the Oklahoma Sooners.

“I am so excited to study and row at the University of Oklahoma,” says Ognovich. “I looked at some great colleges but the opportunities Oklahoma offers to their athletes and especially their rowers is what makes this decision right for me. I can’t wait to spend my next four years at such an amazing University and with such a competitive Division I rowing program.”

Under NCAA rules, university athletic departments cannot legally sign female high school rowers to a National Letter of Intent until November 13th but athletes can make a verbal commitment to the college of their choice at any time prior to this date.

A senior at Greensboro Day School, Ognovich entered the fall season as one of the most prized rowing prospects in the nation. In the summer, Ognovich won gold against Canada and Mexico on board the United States’ junior women’s eight crew at the 2013 CanAmMex Regatta. The victory was the first international class win for Ognovich, who is only the second rower in history from the Triad to make a United States rowing team. She follows Caroline Lind, the two-time gold medalist in the USA women’s eight at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ognovich was selected to Team USA following a standout performance at a three week USA High Performance Camp in Connecticut, where she led the squad in fitness testing with an erg score of 7 minutes 11 seconds. The time is currently the best of any high school senior in the country.

“We are so pleased for Katie and her family. She has an incredible collegiate rowing career in her future,” says High Point coach Gene Kininmonth.

High Point Rowing Club is only a year old and Kininmonth says Katie’s success is proof of just how powerful the scholarship opportunities are for female students with rowing experience. “Women’s rowing is the sport selected by hundreds of university athletic departments as the counter sport to men’s football. Colleges want female rowers and there are more places on college teams for female rowers than there are high school rowers to fill them right now,” Kininmonth says. “This is the greatest educational opportunity outside of the classroom for girls in High Point.”

Katie Ognovich has been offered a full ride scholarship to row at the University of Oklahoma.
Katie Ognovich has been offered a full ride scholarship to row at the University of Oklahoma.