Winter has finally reared its ugly head and I hope everyone enjoyed a few days off from school. While spring seems like some far-off dream, the Crew Board met last night to make sure we will be prepared for it when the lake thaws and the grass starts to turn green.

Here are a few highlights from our meeting last night.

The team has been training hard in the erg room and there has been a great turnout from the team, especially the novices. Training this time of year will help set our team apart in the spring so please give the kids lots of encouragement and support. Also, the captains are planning on some fun, mid-winter team bonding events so please keep a look out for announcements in the near future.

Work on the boathouse continues. The boat racks have been installed and work on finalizing power continues. Keep your fingers crossed, it looks like we should be ready when the ice melts!

With the transition in the high school athletic department, it has been a challenge getting the certificates for varsity letters signed. However, this should happen within the next week. I apologize for the delay and will send a list of all of the new varsity teammates soon.

Work continues on the spring schedule, and those of us who are more “seasoned” in the sport understand that scheduling regattas is a constantly fluid process. But here is a very early tentative schedule for the spring (please keep in mind that the hosts of these events are still finalizing the dates):

  4/18          Ann Arbor
  4/25          Wyandotte
  5/2           Wyandotte
  5/9           Saline to Host
  5/16 or 5/23  Grand Rapids 
                (H.S. State Championships)
  5/30          London, Ontario
  6/6-6/7       St. Catharines, Ontario 
                (Varsity only and limited novice rowers)

It looks like there will be limited overnight travel this spring. The primary overnight event will be for the final regatta of the season. Carol Torssell will have additional information on travel and hotels for the spring season after the schedule is finalized.

Planning for the Great Gatsby Regatta fundraiser continues. This year we will be raising money for a new boat trailer that can handle the size of our growing team. The cost of this will be about $13,000. Our next meeting is February 25 at 7:30 in the Saline Library. Look for more announcements and please join the planning committee. It is a great way to meet other parents and your help is needed.

The spring rower and parent meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 19 at 7 p.m. in the Liberty School media center. This is a very important meeting for all team members and their parents to attend as we will be discussing dates and information for the upcoming spring season. Additionally, we will be distributing invoices for spring dues and speaking about the carpool fees. You are free to pay for the dues with a check at the meeting or on the Saline Crew website (http://www.salinerowing.org) using PayPal. It is important to note that all dues must be paid no later than March 16 in order to participate in the spring practices.

Finally, I am again requesting volunteers for various committees listed below. I have not yet received any response to my request last month. Because this is a club sport, the club is completely dependent on involvement from all parents to make this a success for our kids. And take it from someone who got involved right away, it is a great way to form friendships with the other parents and to make this a family sport. These all take very little time but have a huge impact on the team. Please, please let me know if you can help and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

  • Transportation
  • Cooking
  • Food and Supply Coordinator
  • Rent-a-Rower
  • Team Photographer
  • Web Maintenance

Thank you for all of your support and for making Saline Crew great!

Chris Frick