This spring, Norwalk River Rowing will be looking to recruit new Wilton student-athletes willing to put in hard work to earn top places against the competition on local and national levels. The 2023 season was a strong one for the club, which made a strong sweep of gold and silver medals at Northeast Regionals when 25 of our young athletes qualified for the 2023 USRowing National Championships.
Although the club draws members from many surrounding towns including Darien, Westport, Weston and Norwalk, Wilton students and families make up nearly half of the Norwalk River-based non-profit community club — including approximately half of the winning contingent at Regionals and two silver medalists at the National level this past season.
Anyone can learn how to row and there are strong benefits to choosing rowing as a junior varsity and varsity sport:
- Teamwork: Crew is the ultimate team sport. Most sports have a teamwork component, but in rowing there is nothing else. Rowing demands the complete focus and effort of every crew member. The crew works together to make the boat reach its full potential to fly over the water.
Rowing requires endurance, strength and skill. The bonds that athletes forge on a rowing team through a shared trial are some of the strongest and longest lasting. Relying on one another to consistently take strokes through the water to power the boat leads to lifelong friendships.
- Fitness: Rowing is one of the best full-body workouts for strength, coordination, and flexibility while being as safe and low-impact as possible. A workout that activates nearly twice the muscle groups that other sports do, a single stroke works quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, arms, and back muscles. The amount of energy used in one 2000-meter sprint race is comparable to the amount used to play two full basketball games. Students looking for a sport that will build muscle, lung capacity, strength and resilience should look no further than joining a crew team. And with a strong body comes a strong mind. Rowing is an excellent catharsis for the stress of school work and teen life.
- Life skills: Rowing builds mental strength and develops critical life skills like responsibility and time management as well as leadership abilities and multitasking. It takes a high level of responsibility to be able to be a strong member of the team that won’t let boatmates down, as well as being able to prioritize tasks, such as learning when to work and when to socialize.
As new rowers join the team, more experienced members take charge to help new members learn to row and what to do to help the team, leading to the development of strong leadership abilities. At races, there are constant tasks to do in addition to actual races, such as carrying oars for boats going on the water, unloading and loading the boat trailer, and rigging and derigging the boats.
Rowers also have strong communication skills, punctuality, the physical ability to be on their feet and work for long periods of time, and the ability to work well and reliably with others.
- College: Crew is seen as one of the most prestigious sports in the world, given that it’s one of the oldest sports still practiced by a wide variety of participants and is associated with academia. This is why crew is seen as being a top sport in many Ivy League and other prestigious colleges around the United States and the world. Being in crew can earn student-athletes a place in colleges with high levels of education because crew is viewed as an academic sport.
Interested to learn more or give rowing a try?
Registration for spring rowing season for 6th-12th graders is now underway at Norwalk River Rowing. Programs include Learn to Row, Development Team and Race Team options. In high school? Join the Wilton Crew Club at Wilton High School and come row with us to earn school recognition. To learn more visit the Norwalk River Rowing website or contact Coach Vinny at 203.866.0080.
