Small Club Saturday: WeCanRow

General Club Information

1. When was your club founded?

WeCanRow-Boston, Inc. is a wellness and recovery program for women who have been treated for breast cancer. Founded in 2002, by Olympic gold medalist HollyMetcalf, WeCanRow-Boston is the original WeCanRow program, which now has affiliates around the country. In 2010 WCR-B was invited to make its home at Boston University. WCR-B currently rows out of DeWolfe Boathouse, on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, and in the winter uses the tanks at the BU Athletic Center. We are extremely fortunate in and greatly appreciative of our continuing relationship with BU, Women's Rowing Coach, and all her staff and rowers. Please see an interview with Holly Metcalf in the Oprah Daily about our origin story.

2. What is the general background of the club?

We provide an opportunity for women recovering from breast cancer to develop healthy and strong bodies, become active participants in their own recovery, rediscover the joy of movement, and be part of a group of women with a common bond supporting each other.

3. What is your club's mission/goals?

National Goals of the WeCanRow Program:

Help women who have been treated for breast cancer:

Develop healthy and strong bodies

Become active participants in their own recovery

Assert control over their bodies

Rediscover the joy of movement

Contribute to a mutually empowering recovery team

Purpose for WeCanRow-Boston

The purpose of WeCanRow-Boston is to support a wellness rowing program for women breast cancer survivors and, in general, to support and encourage the sport of rowing and to be role models for women of all ages.

Mission

Through the sport of rowing and within a peer support model, WCR-B promotes wellness for women who have been treated for breast cancer.

Vision

WCR-B will provide an inclusive community for women treated for breast cancer through responsive support, encouragement, and skills development. WCR-B will be sustainable in terms of finances, staffing, and support from sponsors and the wider rowing community.

4. Any motto or quotes your boathouse lives by?

Support – teammates, self, and other rowers

Teamwork – rowing as one, inclusiveness, and camaraderie

Respect – for each other and individual rowing goals and rowing expertise

Empowerment

Trust

Community connection

High-quality rowing experience and instruction

Program Structure

1. What initiatives has your club implemented to bring in athletes and participants?

We have referral networks from local oncologists and breast cancer support groups. Unfortunately we continue to have a long wait list. We provide the first season free of charge for women in recovery from their initial breast cancer treatment.

2. What programs do you offer and how is the training structured?

WeCanRow is specifically designed to allow women treated for breast cancer to reorient themselves with their bodies. Our membership is diverse, including women ranging from their 30's to their 70s, and from many walks of life, most of whom never rowed before joining WCR-B. For all our members rowing helps re-build physical strength and mental focus, renew self-image, and develop the bond of teamwork with women who have had similar cancer experiences.

Physical Readiness – All women who have been treated for breast cancer are welcome at WCR-B regardless of their athletic experience or current physical fitness. Rowing is, however, a strenuous physical sport, so for the safety of each rower as well as of those around her all participants must be screened by a physician prior to beginning the WCR-B program.

Swim Skills – WCR-B requires each new member to provide evidence that she has passed a simple swim test.

Buddies – Each new member of WCR-B is paired with a veteran member as her buddy, to help her navigate learning to row and getting involved in the group.

Meet the Tanks – New members are invited to a Tuesday night practice in the BU tanks in late February or March to meet each other, veteran members, and the coaches. They will also learn some rowing basics and be able to row in the tanks.

Learn to Row – New members gather with veteran members at DeWolfe Boathouse on a Saturday in May for their first session on the water. They will row in a stable practice barge, and review safety rules and procedures, with plenty of time to ask questions.

Weekly Practice- Eights and fours, as well as the barge, are available based on signups and coach/cox availability.

Small Club Tips

1. We notice you do a lot of fundraisers and events, can you speak about how you connect within the community for attendance and outreach purposes?

We have had the support of local outside organizations such as Score for A Cure. Our club-specific fundraising has included Facebook Giving Day posts and individual donations. We row on the Charles River in Boston but try to stay in contact with cancer outreach programs in Boston Hospitals. We also have the benefit of a national WeCanRow organization and pre-Covid started a WeCanRowTogether program with other clubs around the country.

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

Our focus is closely aligned with wellness after cancer activities. For all our members, rowing is a way to wellness. Some members like the weekly exercise and sense of community while other members have branched out to row with other groups or clubs. We have a members who like to participate in the outside rowing, showing our WeCanRowBoston colors! But ultimately our mission is to promote wellness and thriving after cancer!

Click here for more information on WeCanRow - Boston.