Welcome to a new year with Woodson Rowing. There is already a lot going on, so check out the “Action Items” if you don’t have time to comb through the whole newsletter right now. But make sure you come back and read it all to catch up on what’s in store for 2025!

INDOOR ROWING OPPORTUNITY, SIGN UP NOW!
ERGSPRINTS – SIGN UP NOW!
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
REGISTERED DIETITIAN and NUTRITIONIST VISIT, JAN 17
WINTER SWIM TESTS, FEB 8 AND FEB 15
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
- A. BOATHOUSE WORKDAY / GREEN DAY, FEB 8
- B. CHUCKWAGON WORKDAY, MAR 8
ON-THE-WATER MEETING, WED, FEB 12
DON’T MISS OUT ON TEAM UPDATES
CALENDAR AT-A-GLANCE

WAIT – THERE’S MORE?

ACTION ITEMS

1. INDOOR ROWING OPPORTUNITY, SIGN UP NOW!
Help break up the monotony of winter conditioning and get out on the water in the comfort of the indoors! We hope you will join us for this fun and unique opportunity to get “on the water” before the season officially starts. We have reserved a two-hour time slot at Maverick Rowing Center on January 18 and February 15. This cool new facility near Ashburn, VA (approx 35 min drive from Woodson) has indoor tanks and state of the art equipment for rowers to row indoors – but in a real boat and on water, not on ergs! Check out their website at maverickrowing.com.

Our time slots are from 10am-12pm on Jan 18 and Feb 15. The facility can accommodate 35 rowers at one time so we can take 35 rowers for the full two hours or two sets of 35 rowers for one hour each. We’d like to give as many people an opportunity to participate as possible so we ask that you first sign up for only one of the hour-long slots on each day (but feel free to sign up for one hour on Jan 18 and one hour on Feb 15). 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.

There is a $20 cost per rower per day to participate. The cost will be the same for all rowers regardless of whether you do one or two hours on a given day. We will be in touch with all families who signed up to make payment prior to the event. Transportation will be the responsibility of the athlete. Sign up for the opportunity here: Maverick Rowing.

2. ERGSPRINTS – SIGN UP NOW!
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. REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Although the early bird discount has expired, registration for the season is still open and available! Please 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.**

4. REGISTERED DIETITIAN and NUTRITIONIST VISIT, JAN 17
On Friday, January 17, 2025, from 4:30-5:30p Estela Schnelle, MS RD will visit the team to speak to the athletes (and any parents that are available to attend) about the unique nutritional needs of high school rowers. If you recognize the name, that’s because Estela is a local registered dietician and nutritionist at the Washington Center for Weight Management and Research, as well as parent to rower Marin Schnelle! Any questions? Reach out to Estela on Slack.

5. 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.

6. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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. Stay tuned for a sign up, but if you know you can help on this day, set the time aside now!

7. ON-THE-WATER MEETING, WED, FEB 12
The Board is planning to host an on-the-water meeting in the evening on Wednesday, February 12 (time and location TBD – mostly likely 7p in the Woodson Cafeteria). 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.

8. DON’T MISS OUT ON TEAM UPDATES
The two best ways to stay up to date on all things Woodson Rowing: (1) this newsletter via email and (2) our Slack community. There are 2 separate Slack spaces: one for coach and athlete communications and a separate space for parent/guardian communications. Please contact our communications team at [email protected] if you need help with getting signed up for either!

9. 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/

JANUARY 2025:

Winter Conditioning schedule

Thu, 01/16: Mama Lucia restaurant fundraiser, 11a-8p
Fri, 01/17: RD/Nutritionist visit during winter conditioning, Cafe B, 4:30-5:30p
Mon, 01/20: MLK Day, NO WINTER CONDITIONING

FEBRUARY:

Sat, 2/1: ErgSprints
Wed, 2/5: Chipotle restaurant fundraiser, 4-8p
Sat, 2/8: Boathouse Workday/Green Day, 9a-12:30p
Sat, 2/8: Swim test for new recruits, 11a-12p, Audrey Moore Rec
Sat, 2/15: Swim test for new recruits, 11a-12p, Audrey Moore Rec
Mon, 2/17: President’s Day, NO WINTER CONDITIONING
Mon, 2/24: last day of Winter Conditioning
Tue, 2/25: first day of on-the-water practice!

MARCH:

Sat, 3/8: Chuckwagon Workday, details TBD

TENTATIVE 2025 REGATTA SCHEDULE available at https://woodsonrowing.org/regatta-schedule/

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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