Whoa! I have no idea what we’re getting into! Hopefully, this will help you out. Most folks have no idea what crew is. Their exposure to the sport may amount to a few minutes during an Olympic broadcast at most. Or they might have seen us on the canal paddling the long canoes. Every rower on the team has started off right where you are! Here’s a little about what you can expect at camp.

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Rowing is a full-body, physical sport. It involves all the major muscle groups and a good bit of mental focus. That doesn’t mean that you need to be in top physical shape, but you must be capable of physical activity. You should be a competent swimmer. While it’s unlikely that you will end up in the water, this is a water sport. You should be able to float, tread water, and swim short distances. And you should have the desire to learn something brand new. Pre-existing conditions like asthma, etc. are not disqualifiers. So long as the new rower is cleared for physical activity, you can participate!

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Our boathouse is at the Atlantic Yacht Basin, 2615 Basin Rd, in Chesapeake, right near the Great Bridge drawbridge. When you come to AYB, please park on the grass along the road or on the fire road. Do not park on AYB’s paved lot. There will be a Hickory Crew tent right there and folks to guide you. We row on the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal.

On arrival at the facility, we’ll check you in, answer any lingering questions, make sure the paperwork is all in, then escort you down to the boathouse. Parents are welcome to tag along.

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We’ll give you a short tour of the facilities, show you the boats, and introduce you to the tools of our sport. Then we’ll start everyone on our rowing machines, called ergometers. The ‘erg’ provides a stable platform for teaching new rowers the sequence of body movements for the rowing stroke without the worry of being in a boat that rocks from side to side. As rowing requires asynchronous motion between everyone in the boat, this is an important element to grasp. This will encompass days 1 & 2. Towards the end of day 2, we’ll put the new rowers into what we call the ‘row box’. It’s a training device that is a section from a boat that we use to teach oar handling skills.

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Our goal is to start getting people on the water on day 3. We’ll be using our 8s (8 rowers in the boat), with a mixture of new rowers and our varsity team members. The remainder of your time at camp will (hopefully) be spent on the water. There’s a lot to come to grips within the boat, so we’ll start off slow with half the rowers ‘setting the boat’ (keeping it balanced) so that those rowing can get the idea of how it’s all put together on the water and rotate you frequently. As your skill and confidence grow on succeeding days, more rowers will row together.

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When boats are on the water, we have coaches in motor launches out with them to coach them and ensure safety. They are in contact with the practice parents onshore and have marine radios to communicate with boaters if need be.