By Kathy Hughes
Contributing Writer
“Trending now,” to borrow a phrase, is a re-awakened interest in the sport of rowing, or crew. This can be attributed to the acclaimed book, “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.” A true story told by Daniel James Brown, the book has been a catalyst for the PBS American Experience documentary, “The Boys of ‘36,” as well as for the hoped-for and expected film based on the book.
Crew at F-M high school and Syracuse in general are not waiting to be discovered, but they may be waiting to be noticed, since F-M is only one of four local high schools to sponsor crew teams, men’s and women’s in almost every category. The others are Baldwinsville, Liverpool and Syracuse City (Henninger).
How did this come about?
Crew has its beginnings at F-M 13 years ago, in 2004. A local parent, Judge Bob O’Leary, began to research the possibility of building a team at the high school starting in 2001, and he didn’t quit. High school rowing has a 40-year tradition locally, beginning with Liverpool, and collegiate rowing, namely at Syracuse University, dates back to the 1890s.
Longtime local residents will remember that the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship, known as “the Regatta,” was hosted annually at Onondaga Lake during the years 1952 to 1992. It was the highpoint of summer as the phrase, “you gotta regatta,” drew thousands of spectators to the lakeshore in Liverpool.
This is when the powerhouse racing teams (men’s and women’s) — Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, U.S. Naval Academy and Syracuse University from the East Coast, and UCal (Berkeley) and the University of Washington from the West Coast, faced off for the national championship. It was quite an honor.
Rowing is kept alive and well by the Syracuse Chargers Rowing Club, which formed in 1972, under the direction of SU rowing coach Bill Sanford (also a member of the Onondaga County Legislature). The Chargers raised money to build the boathouse and docks on Onondaga Lake and to buy equipment, which, in turn they rent back to the colleges (SU and LeMoyne), high schools and the teams which they sponsor, such as the Masters Rowing Team.
Technically, the F-M Rowing teams are considered a sports club, rather than an official high school athletic team, even though the teams are exclusively F-M students. They compete with other schools, and the coaches’ salaries are paid in-part by the school. The head coach, and varsity girls’ team coach, Dave Cursano, is a member of the F-M athletic department, as well as the five assistant coaches. This arrangement avoids certain restrictions which might be imposed if they were to be an official team sport at the high school.
It would be hard to exaggerate the amount of effort, expense and dedication needed by the coaches, students and parents to support the rowing team. First, the coaches are part-time, and work full time jobs as well. For instance, Coach Cursano is an engineer at O’Brien & Gere.
The students, numbering about 100 girls and boys, undergo indoor exercise and weight training two to three times a week beginning in January, and then workout every day when the season begins, the first Monday in March. On-the-water workouts begin in April, once weather permits. Competitive races are held every weekend in May, requiring travel out of the area. One of the chief benefits of rowing to the students is “time management,” according to Cursano.
Parental involvement and support is essential to the ability of the teams to compete, not only locally, but statewide and nationally as well. “Crewsters” is the name of the parents booster organization, which raises funds through personal donations and events in support of the teams.
Some interesting facts about rowing: 60 percent of rowers are female, and this is true locally, nationally and at the collegiate level. The girls teams are often the most successful competitively.
Rowing is a non-load-bearing activity, and is not stressful to the joints (with the proper technique). Not the arms, not the shoulders, but the legs are employed to power the boat, pushing, not pulling to propel the boat. Rowers face backward to the direction of travel.
Typically, a boat contains eight rowers, plus the coxswain (pronounced, “cox-sun”). The coxswain position is held by the same person, throughout the season, and the coxswain never rows. Usually, the coxswain is the lightest weight person in the boat and, as the only person facing forward, has the job of steering the boat. The coxswain is responsible for directing the rowers and informing them of their progress and position on the course.
Eight rowers must do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, as one synchronized unit. The cadence, once called out by the coxswain, is now done electronically.
Dana Moffat, F-M graduate, now rowing with the University of California Golden Bears, has her eyes on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Her team won the National Women’s Rowing Championship, plus she is a straight-A student, studying economics.
Some sites to learn about rowing, rowing classes, and competitions: FMrow.com, chargersrowing.org, and row2k.com.
To follow Dana Moffat, she appears on YouTube, and the sites olympic.org and worldrowing.com.
