Overview
The Prince William Rowing Club is a non-profit athletic organization managed and
operated by its members. The board of directors and officers serve as elected
volunteers. The club provides its members in the Woodbridge, Dale City,
Manassas, and adjoining areas an adult rowing program for novices to
experienced rowers.
The adult rowing program begins in early June, and continues rowing until late
fall. The season is capped with the Occoquan Chase and Head of the Occoquan (HOTO)
regattas. Many of our new members have no previous rowing skill but join for
curiosity; or they join to experience a sport once only available to sons and
daughters. A good number join the club to develop physical strength, stamina,
and teamwork. Others join on a more focused note: to hone rowing and team skills
or compete at national regattas. Regardless of initial purpose, our members become
long-lasting and ardent enthusiasts of crew.
The club operates a novice summer rowing camp each year
to help the high school rowing programs recruit new rowers. This program offers
weeklong sessions of professional, yet fun indoctrination to the sport.
History
The Prince William
Rowing Club got its start as an extension of the student-rowing program in 1990.
Interested parents rowed, culminating in the Head of the Occoquan as mixed adults
(adult exhibition – no class status). After a couple of years, the Occoquan
chase was added – still rowing as mixed adults. The third year brought enough
adults to allow rowing in separate men
and women categories, qualifying for masters men or masters women events in both
the Occoquan Chase and the Head of the Occoquan.
In the following years the program started to grow and the founding
members were invited to the Prince William Crew Association meetings. In late
fall of 1997 the Prince William Rowing Club was organized as a member of the
Prince William Crew Association (PWCA), first setting up the adult rowing
program and then conducting the first novice summer rowing camp. In January 1998 the PWRC was incorporated as a non-profit organization,
providing an adult masters rowing program and a summer rowing camp for Novices.
Goals
- Provide a fun, fair, equitable and cooperative environment for practice and competition.
- Introduce the sport of rowing to prospective public and private high school students through the novice summer rowing program.
- Support the high school rowing programs.
- Promote rowing in the local area.
The prime focus of the PWRC is to provide a rowing program that fills the needs of its members. These programs are divided into the following categories: learn to row, recreational, competitive juniors and masters. Within these programs are age and skill classifications. The PWRC operates out of the Oxford Boathouse located at the Lake Ridge Park Marina, Prince William County.
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