Small Club Saturday: Mount Vernon Crew

General Club Information:

When was your club founded? 2003

What is the general background of the club?

MV Crew was founded by parents of students at Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, VA who wished to learn to row. While the school district would not fund the sport, it did approve the formation of a club sport. As a club sport, there was no financial support from the district. Parents and students began the tireless efforts to finance, purchase equipment, and staff the club with suitable coaches. The organization then worked with the local army base to use their marina. The relationship with the base became a partnership – a partnership that allowed the team a place to row out of and the army base a small army of students to help maintain the marina and do conservation work. That relationship is still in effect to this day.

What is your club's mission/goals?

Mt. Vernon High School has an extremely culturally, racially, and economically diverse student body. As a result, the MV Crew Team is one of the most racially and economically diverse rowing programs in Virginia. MV Crew prides itself on providing every student, regardless of financial situation, an opportunity to learn and compete in the sport

Any motto or quotes your boathouse lives by?

"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training."

Program Structure:

What initiatives has your club implemented to bring in students and athletes?

The biggest challenge to recruitment is the cost of participating in the sport. As mentioned before, our rowers come from a diverse community. Many of the students at Mt. Vernon High School cannot afford the cost of participating in a rowing program. To keep the rowers' dues as low as possible and to provide partial or full scholarships, parents, rowers and coaches fundraise year-round. The operating costs are kept to a minimum, so we are able to commit almost all the money raised to giving any interested student an opportunity to get in a boat.

How is your program structured, do you compete at a higher level or against other clubs, etc.?

Our program is very small and runs on a shoestring budget. As a result, we are only able to compete locally in the scholastic rowing competitions and local invitational regattas.

Small Club Tips:

Can you talk about your fundraising efforts and how you do outreach throughout your community?

As mentioned before, we fundraise year-round. Our rowers understand that for the club to get on the water each season, they must do the work to fund the club, keep rowers' dues to a minimum, and to help grow the club within the student body. Corporate sponsorships are hard to come by in the part of town that Mt. Vernon High School serves. So, the rowers hit the local neighborhoods asking for donations, sell popcorn, have car washes, run bake sales, garage sales, the parents put on a community bingo game, and wrap Christmas presents for donations. Recently, the coaches and rowers have run an adult learn to row program for donations to the club! The community has really enjoyed the opportunity to get on the water with us. Growing the sport and helping to keep MV Crew on the water.

What are some recommendations or strategies that have allowed your club to be successful in growing and maintaining members over the years?

First, keeping the costs to individual families at an affordable level. Second, being able to offer help in covering costs when needed. Lastly, parents working together to help all rowers to participate. Our coaches do a great job of making sure that the rowers are not only invested in the team's success, but in each other's success on and off the water. That family atmosphere makes doing the work to make sure everyone gets to row easier and keeps people around.

Any tips to share that might help other small clubs do the same in their communities?

Knocking down the belief that rowing is "only for the rich kids" by making it accessible to anyone that wants to learn to row. Kids and adults are looking for a place to belong. Your club can be that community!

Have you run into challenges with getting members? Any advice on how other small clubs can combat those challenges?

Educating the community about the sport is a must. In underserved communities having fundraising schemes that help potential rowers afford the sport is key. Also, our coaches invite interested rowers out to the marina to spend some time with the team and learn to erg. Finally, the varsity rowers and coaches take them out onto the water to get a taste of being on the water in a shell.

Anything else you would like to share about your club that would be beneficial to other clubs and our members!

Every team sets out to win and striving to do so is certainly important. The MV Crew philosophy is that it is equally important, especially in the scholastic arena, to have a club that nurtures competitive spirits, but is also a safe place to come outside of school, gives young people a solid social group, a place for personal growth, challenge, and FUN! The coaches, parents and board members work very hard to make sure our club is that place.