August 2008
(Updated: August 24, 2008, 1:00 PM)
Latest updates include:
Fall competition dates added to 08/09 Calendar Page
08 Fall Forms now available on the Forms / Policies Page
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Fall Rowing
Our fall rowing program begins Monday, August 25, 2008
Please go to our Fall Rowing page for more information
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Fall Open House
We had a GREAT turnout on August 20th for our Fall Open House
We had almost 30 potential new athletes attend the open house.
Thanks to everyone that helped out!
River Clean Up Days
We will be scheduling a few more clean up days sometime after school starts. We also had a request for a weeknight clean up day so please watch this space for updates.
Thanks to all of those who helped out the last 3 Saturdays!
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NEW WOMEN'S OPEN ERG TEAM RECORD
Leah Williams - 7:35.9
Previous record was held by Brittany Machala (7:39.2, 2005)
Congratulations to the Women's Junior 8+ for their 6th place finish at the Canadian Secondary Schools Championships and all other crews that competed.
CONGRATULATIONS to all State Championship Finalists
Unfortunately the weather did not allow for completion of the finals.
Men's & Women's Junior 8's
Women's Junior 4
Men's & Women's Lightweight 8's
Men's & Women's Lightweight 4's
Men' s Varsity 8
CONGRATULATIONS to all Midwest Athletes
Women's Junior 4+ - Bronze medal
Women's Lightweight 8+ - 4th place
Men's Lightweight 8+ - 5th place
FHC Cheers loudest for EGR
Please see this article about true sportsmanship
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FHC Christens new boat
On Saturday, April 27th, FHC christened a new bow coxed four
"The LeBlanc's"
In honor of team founder Don LeBlanc and his wife Claudia
"Don and Claudia were instrumental in founding the Forest Hills Central Rowing program 14 years ago and for bringing high school rowing to West Michigan. This boat is named in their honor for their dedication to the high school athletes of Forest Hills and West Michigan."
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| Don & Claudia LeBlanc |
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| Don & Claudia with 08 team captains |
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Crew teams establish state association
Saturday, April 19, 2008
By Kelly Hill
The Grand Rapids Press
Almira Kovachevich has looked forward to getting on the water because she is excited about rowing. Very excited.
Kovachevich, a freshman at Forest Hills Central, is a new member of the Rangers' crew team. Crew draws more student-athletes per team than any other sport, including 62 on the FHC team this season. The Rockford team has more than 100.
The seven scholastic teams in the area, from FHC, Forest Hills Eastern, Forest Hills Northern, East Grand Rapids, Lowell, Rockford and Northview, offer opportunities for more than 400 student-athletes.
The Grand Rapids City League schools also have combined to form the Grand Rapids Rowing Club, but in rowing parlance, it is known as a youth team, rather than a scholastic team, because not all the student-athletes attend the same school.
"I have no experience, but it's absolutely great," Kovachevich said. "It is so intense. They go so hard, and then at the end, it is so worth it."
Though not yet recognized by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, because not enough member schools field teams, crew will crown an official state champion this season for the first time. In previous years, the Hebda Cup, contested in the Detroit area, was viewed as an unofficial state championship.
The Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan was established late last year to provide more opportunities for the more than 1,000 student-athletes who compete on Michigan's 20 scholastic crew teams.
Forest Hills Central coach John Gaskin is chairman of the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan. "Two things prompted it," Gaskin said. "The format of this year's Hebda Cup has changed. The west-side teams are not invited any more, and the official reason is that the regatta was getting too large to complete in one day. The coaches also decided that there wasn't enough opportunity for the schools in Michigan to compete against each other.
"We've got more schools trying to get varsity status for crew, so this should help. We also knew we needed a progression into the state championships, so the east-side teams will still have the Hebda Cup and now we will have the West Michigan Championships."
The inaugural West Michigan Championships are scheduled May 3 on the Grand River at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The first SRAM state championship is scheduled for May 17 on Kent Lake, which is part of Kensington Metro Park in Milford.
"We structured it all to mirror the tournaments sponsored by the (Michigan High School Athletic Association)," Gaskin said. The notion of a recognized state championship has been welcomed by local rowers and coaches.
"It is going to be amazing," Kovachevich said. "We are in the big leagues now."
"The state championship will bring more drive and competition to the sport," East Grand Rapids junior Chad Condon said. "The sport should be more competitive this year."
SRAM officials hope the state championship will help raise awareness of the popularity of crew. "I think the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan is going to be a great addition to Michigan rowing," EGR coach Kate Pocock said. This (state championship) regatta will allow schools around Michigan to compete against each other. I believe that this will become a great tradition for crews around the area."
Forest Hills Northern coach Greg Soleau said he thinks SRAM and the state championship will help the sport grow. "This is definitely a good thing," Soleau said. "We needed something like this to help legitimize the sport and to bring it into mainstream thinking."
The crew season heats up this week with Saturday's regatta at Riverside Park.
Send e-mail to the author: sports@grpress.com
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