About Us

About Guilford Rowing, Inc.

Guilford Rowing, Inc., a non-profit public charity 501(c)(3), was formed to foster, encourage and support the sport of rowing.  Guilford Rowing, Inc. owns all of the boats and equipment, which the Guilford High School Crew Team uses each spring season.  Guilford Rowing, Inc. consists of five board members:

President: Matthew Wilson
Secretary: Brian Dombroski
Treasurer: Ginny Wilson

Guilford Rowing, Inc. offers high school students the opportunity to row in the spring and fall.  In the spring season, students row competitively against other Connecticut High School Teams as an official Guilford High School varsity sport.  During the fall, the coaches focus more on teaching and refining the rowers’ technique and there is no official relationship with GHS.  In addition, Guilford Rowing, Inc. offers middle and high school students a “Learn to Row Camp” that is coordinated through the Guilford Parks and Recreation each July. 

Friends of Guilford Rowing

Friends of Guilford Rowing (FOGR) is the fundraising arm of the registered 501(c)(3). Join Us!  FOGR has meetings the second Monday of each month at the Guilford Community Center at 7:00 pm.  Please join our group and help us make a great experience for all the members of the team.

Executive Committee

  • Mary Amter
  • Laurie Hawkes
  • Brooke Sheldon
  • Stephanie Hutchinson
  • Rob Hutchinson
  • Mark Michna

 

History

In 2005, William Thompson founded the Guilford High School Crew team with just 22 rowers and served as its Head Coach until 2015.  Since its inception, the participation level on the Guilford Crew Team has been consistently growing with approximately 80 to 90 rowers per year.

About the sport

Crew is truly a team sport where students have to work together to achieve a common goal.  There are no individual stars in crew, it is a team event.  One of the greatest aspects of this sport is that it is a group effort and every person has to contribute equally.

 A normal on the water training session consists of stretching/boat meeting; technique drills; high intensity and low-intensity rowing; and a stretching cool down/boat meeting. The coaches spend quite a lot of time teaching rowers the proper techniques of rowing.  Including the stroke; catch; drive; finish; and recovery.  Every movement a rower makes in the boat can change the boat, so each rower works hard to perfect their technique.  

The rowers work extremely hard off the water to stay in top condition for competition.  Rowers work on their cardiovascular endurance, core strength, and upper and lower body muscular strength and endurance throughout the fall and winter to prepare for the competitive spring season.  Rowing requires the entire body to perform at its highest level.  So rowers must continually work to improve all parts of their body.  Many rowers work out on rowing machines called “ergs” to improve their technique and strength.  In addition, they also do weight lifting to improve their muscular strength and endurance.