Posted on by VP Communications

January 23, 2025 Newsletter

The uniform storm will close on SATURDAY. If you haven’t submitted your order, please do so ASAP! Also, sign up for ErgSprints TODAY to avoid late fees.

1. UNIFORM STORE CLOSES JANUARY 25, 2025
2. ERGSPRINTS – SIGN UP TODAY TO AVOID LATE FEES
3. LINK TO NUTRITION PRESENTATION
4. MAVERICK ROWING, FEB 15
5. THERE IS WINTER CONDITIONING ON WED., JAN 29
6. SEEKING A CARPOOL COORDINATOR
7. REGISTER BEFORE WE GO ON-THE-WATER
8. WINTER SWIM TESTS, FEB 8 AND FEB 15
9. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
10. ON-THE-WATER MEETING, WED, FEB 12, 7p IN CAFE B
11. CALENDAR AT-A-GLANCE

WAIT – THERE’S MORE?

ACTION ITEMS

  • BEFORE Jan 25: Order your Uniform
  • ErgSprints Sign Up by TODAY to avoid late fees
  • New Athletes ONLY: sign up for swim test Feb 8 or 15
  • Register for the season, if you haven’t already
  • Feb 15 Maverick Rowing, sign up here
  • Volunteer to be our Carpool Coordinator!

1. UNIFORM STORE CLOSES JANUARY 25, 2025
This year’s uniform is consistent with prior years, so it is not a requirement to purchase a new uniform if your athlete already has one. Samples have been made available for students to try on during conditioning hours. This will continue throughout the next week so all participants can determine sizing. The uniform sizes run small, so please order up a size if your rower does not get the chance to try one on.

Find links and all the information you need to order uniforms or training items on our website: Uniform Store Info.

There are a limited number of sample unis and shirts that may be purchased directly from our Sportswear Chair at a discount. If you are interested, please contact Cheryl via email at [email protected].

2. ERGSPRINTS – SIGN UP TODAY TO AVOID LATE FEES
ErgSprints is the largest indoor rowing competition in the United States, and it is held locally at Alexandria City HS! In this competition, athletes have the opportunity to experience the excitement of competition and compete against rowers from all over the DC Metro Area. Events include 2k’s, 20 minute pieces, relays, and more. It will take place on Saturday, February 1st. Rowers, coaches and even parents have participated in the past. All are welcome. All rowers are highly encouraged to attend and can get help planning out their events with their coaches. 

Participation is optional and athletes who are looking to participate should register on their own (but the more the merrier)! More information and registration can be found at: https://www.ergsprints.com/. Please note that you are with the W.T. Woodson Crew Boosters when registering (They haven’t updated our high school’s name change on Regatta Central yet)! 

3. LINK TO NUTRITION PRESENTATION
On Friday, January 17, 2025, Estela Schnelle, MS RD visited the team to speak about the unique nutritional needs of high school rowers. For those that were not able to attend (or if you want to refresh all the good information you learned), you can find her presentation on our website at: https://woodsonrowing.org/resources/. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Estela on Slack!

4. MAVERICK ROWING, FEB 15
The Maverick Rowing event on January 18 was a huge success. You can check out photos of the event on our smug mug here: Pre-Season Photos. We will host another event on Feb 15th, so sign up now! Since we would still like to give as many people an opportunity to participate as possible, we continue to ask that you first sign up for only one of the hour-long slots. As was the case for the January 18 event, once we get closer to the date and see how many rowers are registered, we will open it up for rowers to sign up for the second hour as space permits. Cost to participate is $20 – a link will be sent for payment closer to the date. Please indicate your interest in participating here: Maverick Rowing Sign Up Genius

5. THERE IS WINTER CONDITIONING ON WED., JAN 29
Although Wednesday Jan 29 is a day off from school, winter conditioning will take place as usual! Don’t miss out.

6. SEEKING A CARPOOL COORDINATOR
We are looking for someone to fulfill the role of Carpool Coordinator. Now that we are aware that a practice bus isn’t financially feasible, this person will help to facilitate carpools for on-the-water practice. Generally speaking, if you are somewhat organized this is a great role for you to earn your team volunteer credits at your own pace. Please contact Maz at [email protected] if you are interested in fulfilling this role.

Given the small number of people interested in a charter practice bus, it is not feasible to contract for a practice bus again this season. Negotiations with numerous local bus companies have not been successful, and the transportation office at FCPS has not given us any guarantee around being able to provide bus drivers on a regular basis, which makes that option very disruptive. Do not despair! We have been very successful in the last few seasons ensuring all athletes get to the water on time for practice and home in time for dinner. To that end, we are looking for a carpool coordinator to help families coordinate rides. Please contact Maz at [email protected] if you are interested in fulfilling this role. If we don’t find a volunteer, it is up to parents (and students) to coordinate carpools by themselves – the carpool channel on Slack is a good resource at your disposal.

7. REGISTER BEFORE WE GO ON-THE-WATER
If you’ve been participating in winter conditioning and know you want to join the team on-the-water, please sign up to register now! Review the registration portion of the website to learn more. Still have questions? Reach out to our membership team at [email protected].

If the cost of participating is an issue, consider applying for the Occoquan Boat Club (OBC) Julia Shew Memorial Rowing Scholarship. The details on applying are located on the OBC website https://www.rowobc.org/home/scholarships. The application deadline is January 25, 2025. Direct any questions to Karin Udler at [email protected] **Please note, Woodson Rowing is not affiliated with OBC and is not at all involved in this scholarship process.**

8. WINTER SWIM TESTS, FEB 8 AND FEB 15
The next two swim tests are scheduled for February 8 and February 15. All athletes must pass a swim test once with Woodson Rowing in order to participate in on-the-water practices. If you’ve never done a swim test with us before, sign up here: Winter Swim Tests.


9. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We highly recommend you jump into volunteering early as it makes it easier to meet your volunteer requirements for the season and gives new families the opportunity to meet returning families! The team tracks participation by assigning “credits” each time a family or athlete volunteers. Failure to meet your volunteer credits by the end of the season will result in a $200 per credit charge. If you want to learn more about volunteering with Woodson Rowing, please visit our website at: www.woodsonrowing.org/volunteering.

A. BOATHOUSE WORKDAY / GREEN DAY, FEB 8: We will also have a boathouse workday/green day on Saturday, February 8. Some parent volunteers are needed and athletes should sign up to help/get on the water! Sign up here: Feb 8 Workday/Green Day.

    B. CHUCKWAGON WORKDAY, MAR 8: The Chuckwagon is an important part of uplifting the morale of the team. We will be doing a pre-season inventory and cleaning on Saturday, March 8 before we race off into the season. Sign up here: Chuckwagon Workday


      10. ON-THE-WATER MEETING, WED, FEB 12, 7p IN CAFE B
      The Board is hosting an on-the-water meeting in the evening on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:00pm in Cafe B at Woodson. Join us to learn what to expect once the competitive regatta season starts. We will share important information for novice and returning parents alike. Athletes are welcome to attend. Board representatives and coaches will be on hand to answer questions. If you cannot attend, we will share a link to the slides following the meeting.


      11. CALENDAR AT-A-GLANCE
      This calendar is constantly updated as events are added. Scroll here for a quick rundown of what’s up and coming. Where relevant and/or available, links are provided for more information. You can also see a visual representation of our calendar on our website: https://woodsonrowing.org/calendar/

      Graphics of our various schedules can be found at the links below:
      Winter Conditioning (October through February)
      On-The-Water Practice (late February through May)
      TENTATIVE 2025 Regatta Schedule (March through May)

      Other important dates: 

      FEBRUARY:

      MARCH:

      WAIT – THERE’S MORE?

      RECRUITMENT:

      Direct interested athletes and their parents to our interest form or have them send an email to our membership team at: [email protected].

      STAY UP TO DATE: Join the newsletter by sending an email to [email protected] or view the newsletter archives on our website.

      INTERESTED IN SPONSORING WOODSON ROWING?

      Visit our Sponsorship Page or contact Woodson Rowing Fundraising.

      Can’t sponsor but want to donate?Check out our Donors page for instructions and information on how your donations benefit our team!

      NEED SWAG?

      There are many ways for you to shop and benefit the team all while sporting your support! See our Spirit Wear Page for more info!

      VIEW AND UPLOAD PHOTOS: Visit our Woodson Rowing photos page for more information on how you can help protect our legacy with photographs!

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