Year-Round Training Opportunities
Riverside Crew creates a range of opportunities for athletes to get in shape for the season and stay in shape between seasons with the help of Maverick Rowing.
During the summer months, out-of-season opportunity for current athletes to stay in sync and for any new and interested students to see what rowing is all about. These sessions are held at Maverick Rowing Center and Algonkian Park. Maverick gives you the flexibility to schedule sessions in their rowing center in the morning or evening on day when you are not on the water.
During the fall months, Maverick offers an opportunity for current and new to rowing athletes a slightly competeitve rowing experience with althernating practices on the water and at Maverick plus one to two regattas like the Head of the James. Sessions are scheduled two times a day – mornings before school and after school in the late afternoon and early evenings at Maverick and on the water after school 4-days a week.
During the winter months, the Algonkian is closed for on-the-water training. In order to maintain rowing form and build strength for the spring season, winter conditioning occurs at Maverick Rowing Center until the spring season begins in late February. Sessions are scheduled two times a day – mornings before school and after school in the late afternoon and early evenings.
For more information, go to For Athletes | Maverick Rowing.
Why Attend Conditioning Sessions?
Rowing is a cardiovascular fitness dominant sport. The demands placed on an athlete during a race are like running up the side of a mountain for a mile and half while chained to seven of your friends.
Tryouts and boat selection during the spring is competitive. The level of fitness necessary for the sport cannot be built in the 4-6 weeks between the first day of practice and the meat of racing season when boat lineups must be set. The better the fitness of the athlete, the better chance they have of making a top boat.
Summer and Winter conditioning is not the only way to get in shape; doing a fall/winter sport or having a rigorous researched workout plan that you do are your own are also good options. We have had past captains and rowers who were members of the swim team, played basketball or ran track and were in top boats that medaled at state championships.
That being said, there will always be athletes that claim they are working out on their own instead of coming to conditioning. In our experience, that is rarely a successful plan. Winter conditioning is designed to get athletes into “rowing shape.” There is more more discipline, encouragement, and fine-tuning of form rowing as a team during winter conditioning.
The more athletes that work hard on their conditioning, the faster ALL our boats will be.