SCOPE With Winchester Thurston School - Forty-four Winchester Thurston (WT) Middle School students visited Steel City Rowing Club Friday (SCRC), April 12, 2013. The day began at 9AM with a brief review of the agenda for the day, then groups were split into two with each group having parent chaperones, current SCRC high School rowers, an SCRC staff member and a WT member of the faculty.
The groups rotated through activities that included a motorboat ride to Sycamore Island, courtesy of Head Coach Laci Tompa and Coach Lucy Tuttle-Smith, where Mike Good from the Allegheny Land Trust gave a history on the island as well as some information regarding its regional inhabitants. Next they moved onto a history of the Allegheny River and broader Pittsburgh with Mr. Ed Divers. Mr. Divers is a local wealth of information and gave some foraging, caving, and exploring tips. After a quick lunch in the Community Room, one group headed to the 3rd floor to get on the erg (indoor rowing) machines while Director of Rowing, Kristina Latta-Landefeld, reviewed rowing technique and the importance of working as a team. In the meantime Executive Director, Dori Tompa, lead group 2 in discussion about our “Green” boathouse and the many ways everyone can work on being more environmentally friendly.
This wonderful day ended with the current Winchester Thurston Crew (housed out of SCRC) taking the Winchester boats out so the 8th graders could get close to the boat and move all the various parts. This was truly a group effort on both SCRC’s part and the Faculty at Winchester Thurston School to make such a wonderful day happen. Thank you to all who participated including the WT parent volunteers who were such great sports on a rainy day.
Pete Wilton, Member of the Quarter - Pete attended Penn State University and is currently a Business Analyst at True Commerce EDI Solutions Group. He has fifteen years working as a Technical Writer, Sr. Technical Writer, Business Analyst and Requirements Analyst. Pete became an Adult Rowing Member along with his lovely bride Wendy in August of 2012 and has since been a wonderful face to see at the club. Pete and Wendy are fairly new to the organization having started in a Club’s Spring Learn to Row in 2012. Since then Pete’s enthusiasm and support of the Club has been a vital force in the expansion of the Adult Rowing Programs. Pete moved up quickly through the adult rowing program and is now in the Advanced Rowing group. His dedication to the team has lead him to racing at Head of the Ohio last fall and also commit to 5:30AM practices this winter.
Pete has recruited numerous adult rowers to Adult Learn to Row weekly classes. He also has helped routinely maintain the facility by taking on the men’s locker rooms. He has mopped the Community Room and helped around the boathouse in numerous ways. On his own accord he founded, organized and chaired the first Annual Steel City Rowing Club Brewfest during the winter of 2013. This event was a HUGE success and really brought life to the club during a long winter. The funds provided by the event also ensures that as a nonprofit we are able to keep our adult rowing class and membership fees low. Brewfest sold out, attracted 9 brewers from the region who vied for first, second and third place honors while raising over $2,500 for Steel City Rowing Club.
SCRC 2013 Gear – Stop by the office and purchase a $5 water bottle or pick up a FREE bumper sticker. Bumper stickers were generously donated by Glenn Sebastian, parent of high school rower, Natalie Sebastian. Thank you Glenn! Also, the Steel City Rowing Club spring and summer 2013 t-shirt designs are ready for purchase at $15. Designs will be on a 50% cotton/50% poly blend purple t-shirt with yellow ink.
June 2, 2013 Rigging 101 Workshop – This workshop will be presented by Director of Rowing Kristina Latta-Landefeld and will focus on the basics of rigging. The workshop will run in conjunction with the Adult Masters Camp, so if you plan to attend the camp, this will be part of your content. If not, there is a $15 for non-members and $10 for members. Fees can be brought to the workshop, but please RSVP to programsscrc@gmail if you plan to attend. The workshop will be held at SCRC and everyone will initially meet downstairs on the boat bay. The workshop will begin at 10AM and be between 1 and 1.5 hours. The agenda is as follows:
1. Meet in boat bay; put 1x and 4+ in slings
Why is rigging important?
2. Rigging for safety
What are important parts of the boat to check daily for safety?
3. Rigging for comfort:
What are most important changes to make?
Who makes these changes?
(Rowers) How does one make these changes?
4. Rigging for speed:
Brief overview of changes coaches make to assist speed
Volunteering in 2013 - SCRC is a non-profit, volunteer based organization. We are so grateful for everyone's ongoing volunteer hours. If you have any time to spare as a class member, parent or current rower, please considering joining our volunteers crew. See above Race, Events and Volunteering calendar for more details regarding the following upcoming volunteer events. Times below are shorted typically into 2-3 hour shifts (see calendar).
Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Health Expo at Pittsburgh Mills Mall
Saturday, May 4 / morning - Planting and Yard "Park" Cleanup at SCRC
Saturday, May 18 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm - Venture Outdoors Festival at Point State Park-Pittsburgh
Friday, May 24 from 4:00 to 9:00 pm AND Saturday, May 25 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
14th Annual Kumite Classic at the Monroeville Convention Center
Sunday, June 23, 2013 - 3 Lakes Golf Course Community Festival in Penn Hills, PA
Thank you to those who helped with all of the Winter Expo's and to those who continuously help us with maintenance around the boathouse: Dana Patsey, Pete Wilton, Karla Isenberg, Lacika Tompa, Jannie Saxon, Neil Cope, Penny Smith, Tom Charley, Davitt Woodwell, Tishie Woodwell, Elizabeth Woodwell, Maggie Woodwell, Sarah Grossman and Sam Gottfried!
2013 Spring Adult Membership Meeting Recap - What a wonderful Membership Meeting is was this weekend! Thank you everyone who could make it. We had a total of 15 adults + 4 kiddos and 1 dog:) TONS of tasty homemade food was provided by members. We hope you have a great season at SCRC and we will see everyone at the fall Membership Meeting were we will review the 2013 spring and summer seasons and look forward to 2014! For a copy of the notes from this meeting, please contact programsscrc@gmail.com. Members, don’t forget to sign up for the new Membership Forum! There have been other updates regarding the new “members only” section of the Adult Membership page at www.steelcityrowing.org, so make sure and review and contact the office with any questions!
Adult Race Committee Report - We are in search of adult rowers interested in racing this season! Whether you've been logging long kilometers on the erg this winter in preparation for racing season or you're hoping to do one race at the end of the fall just for fun, please contact member Michael Gold (msg22@pitt.edu) with your name and level of interest.
We are planning on attending the following races this season. We are open to adding more!
SCRC scrimmages to be held throughout the year... first one is May 25!
July 5, 6, and 7- Independence Day Regatta, Philadelphia, PA
July 27-28- Diamond States Masters Regatta, Delaware
August 4- Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, St. Catherine's, ON (about 20 minutes from Buffalo, NY)
Steel City Rowing Club sent four athletes to the international World Indoor Rowing Championships called C.R.A.S.H.-B. in Boston, MA. What was once started as a fun event held between the elite-level rowers living in Boston, is now an international event where world records are often crushed.
Katie Ashwood (Sophomore, Winchester Thurston School), Salli Bowman (Sophomore, Oakland Catholic HS), Bill Fox (Junior, Winchester Thurston School), and Natalie Sebastian (Junior, Riverview HS) represented SCRC and their respective high schools very well. Bill and Natalie beat their personal best scores that were just beaten on January 19 at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints. Their performances were textbook- executed like true competitors. Salli and Katie also had honorable pieces at this extremely competitive event. Prior to racing, the four rowers met with college coaches across Massachusetts and at top schools such as MIT and Harvard.
After racing we were accompanied by Danielle Kurkjain, a sophomore at Boston University and SCRC Riverview HS alum, for lunch and a two-hour tour where she talked about the college recruitment process and her choice to attend BU. These young athletes deserve a big "High 5" when you see them next for their courage to meet one-on-one with coaches and compete in front of hundreds of viewers in a 2k (a difficult-on-its-own piece)! Many big "Thanks" to the parents who supported their athletes and Coach Kristina to make this event happen. It is an honor to race at this event. Congratulations!
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