ARLINGTON ROWING PROGRAMS

SPRING
Crew is a sponsored club through the Arlington Central School District (ACSD) in the Spring. Many of our athletes will row with Hudson River Rowing Association during our off seasons.

• Competition – we compete in several major rowing events in the northeast.
• Coaching Staff & Transportation – ACSD provides coaching staff, transportation to practices (athletes must arrange their own transportation home), transportation to and from away races, and transportation of the shells (boats) to races.
• Food – food is provided at races, through the ARA food tent, for no extra fee but we do occasionally ask for donations.
• Participation Requirement – the program is open to Arlington students grades 7-12. Students must maintain the grade average required to participate in all Arlington Athletics.
• Swim Test – there is a required swim test for prospective rowers and coxswains every year regardless of level.
• Uniforms – Unisuits are only required for varsity athletes and it is a separate purchase. Every athlete will receive a team t-shirt at the beginning of the season and that serves as their uniform for the novice year. Modified athletes (more on that below) may purchase a unisuit but it is not required as there is no guarantee that they will race in a varsity boat. 
• Varsity Letters – varsity rowers and coxswains receive a Varsity Letter for their participation in the sport at the end of their first varsity season and pins for each year after that.

NOVICE, MODIFIED, AND VARSITY EXPLAINED

The term Novice refers to a rower/coxswain that is participates in crew in his/her first year.  This is a calendar year, and not an academic year.  (If a rower/coxswain joins crew on March 2027 then he/she is considered a novice until February 2028.)

Novice athletes will:

• Learn about the sport, technique, and terminology.
• Learn to row or cox.
• Learn to use an ERG (ergometer) – which is a land rowing machine.
• Learn to row in the water tank.
• Learn to row on water.

There is no previous experience or boating knowledge required to be a successful rower. It just takes effort, commitment, and the desire to learn.  The first year rowing is all about learning and participation.

Modified athletes are those that have completed their novice year but are still in middle school (8th grade). These athletes will practice and race with novice to gain more experience. At the coaches’ discretion, these athletes may get pulled up to row with varsity but it is not guaranteed.

Varsity rowers focus on optimizing boat speed, physical conditioning, and perfect synchronization. At this level, athletes shift from learning basic mechanics to mastering high-performance execution under intense physiological stress.

Our team does not currently have a distinction between J/V and Varsity although some race categories are separated by grade and may affect who gets put in a boat. For example, a senior athlete cannot race in a freshman boat category. One senior would automatically classify that boat as a “senior boat.” Athletes can race up but they cannot race down.

A strong effort is made to give everyone the opportunity to row on the water during practice (weather permitting), and to participate in regattas (races). The safety of children will not be compromised.  Since crew is a team sport, all the children must be ready to go on the water/river.