Organization Information

Neponset Rowing Club provides “learn to row” and competitive rowing for juniors and adults in Milton, Dorchester, Mattapan and surrounding areas.

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Locations

Practice will usually be held after school from 3:30 to 5:30pm. This may change based on the coach’s schedule, the tide or weather. Your coach will communicate practice information at the start of the season. Practices take place at Milton Town Landing, with our dock directly in front of the Milton Yacht Club (88 Wharf St.) 

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Cancellation of Practice
We practice in all weather except active lightning storms or other extreme conditions. Because our weather changes rapidly, rowers should assume practice will be held regardless of the weather and dress appropriately, unless they are told by a member of the coaching staff that practice has been cancelled.

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Registration Limits
Team size is limited by our equipment and coaching resources, and safety consideration. To the extent possible, we will not cut rowers from our program. However, if enrollment exceeds resources, the first two weeks of practice in each season will serve as a try-out period. Any participant who is unable to continue in the program due to these restrictions after the try-out period will be refunded. Evaluation criteria include, among other things, a positive attitude, full participation in workouts, and the ability to pick up the fundamentals of the rowing stroke.

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Donations
Contributions to the scholarship fund are welcomed (see Registration Form). We have tax-exemption status from the IRS so your contribution is tax-deductible.

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Parent Volunteers
Each family is expected to help out with the food tent at regattas one weekend during the season. Specific details will be available from the parent coordinator at the beginning of the season. We welcome your ideas and participation! The Friends of Milton Crew is an all-volunteer organization, and we need your help to make this team a success. It only works because of what you do, from organizing fundraisers to ordering uniforms to chaperoning buses to running the food tent on race day, and on and on. There are so many different ways to help, and it is a fun way to meet other parents and learn more about your rower’s new passion.

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Athletes

The success of your team depends on more than just showing up to practice. The maintenance and care of our equipment, rowing location, and our home course are essential. Therefore, each team member is expected to dedicate a minimum of five hours of participation per season to these activities.

 

Sprint v. Head Races

There are two types of races: Sprints and Head Races. Sprints are usually held in the Spring and Summer and Head Races are usually held in the Fall.

 

Sprints are 1,500 meter races for most high school events and 2,000 meters for club, college, and international events. In sprints, boats race directly against each other in lanes on a marked straight or nearly straight course. In larger regattas, there will usually be qualifying rounds, semi finals and finals.  Qualification is by placement, not by time, i.e. a second place boat in one heat will qualify before a fourth place boat in another, even if the fourth place boat had a better time.

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Head races are held only in the Fall, are longer, usually 2.5 to 3.5 miles, and are timed events. Boats start off typically at 10-15 second intervals and all race the same course, often with many turns, following the course of the river.  The crew with the fastest time from start to finish is the winner.

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Equipment
All of our equipment has been purchased and repaired with funds raised by the Neponset Rowing Club and Friends of Milton Crew.  Rowing equipment is very expensive and very fragile, which makes it essential that it is treated with care and respect at all times. It can take precious weeks to replace broken equipment or boats. Rowers must listen to the coxswain when moving boats and do exactly as they say.