Industrial Strength Rowing

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About Us

Our Mission

Steel City Rowing Club in Verona, Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization devoted to developing the strength and character of individuals of all backgrounds through the discipline and teamwork of rowing and through opportunities to serve others.

The SCRC is:

A rowing club that welcomes youth and adults who want to learn to row for their health and fitness, and for the chance to experience the beauty of our rivers
A center for high-quality coaching and intensive training for rowers, both local and national. Building on a base of novice and junior rowing, Steel City provides opportunities for rowers to participate and achieve up to and including world championship competition
An organization that advances the ethos of community service through its members’ volunteer work
A path to college and scholarships for dedicated young people
A group of volunteers that is helping to develop the community and riverfront, in partnership with local government and other non-profit organizations

The SCRC began in 1997 through the efforts of Laci and Dori Tompa and has grown to serve hundreds of youth and adults who try rowing for the exercise and beauty of the sport and who may go on to compete because of the thrill of competition and the chance to row alongside their teammates.

The SCRC stands-out because of its Geographic Location, the Results of its rowers, and the Sense of Responsibility that it engenders.

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Geographic Location

The Steel City Rowing Club (SCRC) teaches and coaches rowing from its location along the Allegheny River in Verona, Pennsylvania. It is the only rowing organization on the upper Allegheny River.

The SCRC is located mid-way in what the Army Corps of Engineers call “Allegheny River Pool Number 2,” with the Highland Park Bridge on its southern end and the locks at Harmarville at its northern end. This stretch of the river is one of the finest pools of water for rowing in the County because of beautiful, undeveloped wetlands on both sides of the river, relatively low river traffic and few barges to disrupt rowing, and nine full miles of rowing without locks or dams. It is a stretch of the river that can support hundreds of rowers from schools in the eastern part of the City and the Allegheny Valley, which are within easy reach.

High School and College Crew

Steel City is the home for rowing teams that choose to row in this pool of the river because it is closer to their school or college and because they wish to train their rowers using Steel City’s approach. The teams that row at Steel City during the school year, during SCRC’s annual spring training in South Carolina, and during summer camps are:

The Ellis School
Plum Borough School Disctrict
Riverview School District
Shady Side Academy
Shaler School District
Winchester-Thurston School

Steel City also trains young people from a number of other schools that do not have teams, providing them the opportunity to row as part of a “club” team comprised of youth from across the region. Students who row as independents come from the following schools:

Fox Chapel Area School District
Indiana Area School District

In addition, SCRC trains young people from schools with established teams during the summer and during spring break, when Steel City organizes a rowing camp in South Carolina. The coaches at these schools see SCRC as an excellent program for rowers to perfect their skills, to gain strength, and to have the opportunity to participate in national races when school is out of session. These youth return to their teams to race, bringing with them their improved abilities and contributing to their teams’ success.

Adult rowing

The SCRC provides novice and experienced adults with instruction, coaching, indoor facilities, and boats so that they can row for pleasure and competition. Steel City’s adult rowers range in age from 21 through 80.

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Coaches

Ladislau Tompa (Laci)

Laci is a three-time European Champion and seven-time Romanian National Champion with vast experience in rowing technique and training methods. The U.S. Rowing Association has certified him as a Level III coach, the highest level attainable. Laci has 24 years of rowing and coaching experience and has coached teams to the U.S. Olympic Trials and the U.S. World Trials. Because of his coaching, Steel City has represented the United States at Junior Worlds numerous times.

Lucy Tuttle-Smith

Lucy is an avid rower and promoter of the sport. Introduced to rowing by her two children in 2002 she has gone on to receive her Level II Coaching Certification from US Rowing in 2008. When not rowing or volunteering as a coach with the Learn to Row and Novice Programs at Steel City Rowing Club she chairs the Steel City Rowing Club Parent Committee. Lucy holds a degree in Graphic Design from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Patty McAuliffe

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Executive Director

Dori Tompa

Dori Tompa serves as Steel City Rowing Club's Executive Director, focusing on the development of the new programs and the new boathouse.In addition to eight national titles, Dori is an indoor rowing world champion and five-time US National Champion. She is certified as a level III coach and has coached Juniors and Adults to gold metal finishes at the Head of the Ohio, Head of the Schuylkill, Head of the Charles, US Nationals, and Youth Invitational. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1990 in Architecture.