Crew Time

Thursday, March 26, 2009

In an effort to kick off the spring season, the Virginia Boat Club and Rocketts Landing will host Richmond’s first – and only – major collegiate regatta. 

The inaugural Rocketts Landing Collegiate Regatta will be held March 29th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it will feature club crew teams from schools all around Virginia, including VCU, George Mason, NC State and the University of Maryland.

I caught up with Mark Willis, the President of the Virginia Boat Club, to find out more. Willis has been the president of the Virginia Boat Club for about a year and is also the faculty advisor for the crew team at VCU.

“In past years we have hosted what are called masters regattas with participants who are college graduates or row as a hobbie,” he said. “Because we’re hosting a collegiate regatta this year, we expect things to be a little different with more of a student atmosphere. We’re still waiting to hear back from a few schools, but I am confident there will be quite a number of teams and at least 400 spectators on the river.”

According to Willis, the regatta will consist of 25 races with teams divided into several different categories.

 “They’re the ones who actually gave us the idea to host a collegiate event, and they have been extremely supportive financially and logistically,” said Willis.  “Since Rocketts Landing’s involvement we have seen an increased interest in rowing at the Virginia Boat Club.”

The Virginia Boat Club has been using Rocketts Landing as a home port since 1987, and it even has its own dock located near the power plant. The club descended from one of the earliest rowing teams in the United States founded in 1876.


Willis says that regattas on the James River used to be more popular and draw thousands of spectators.  This is why he is trying to expand the rowing program in Richmond and introduce the sport to younger athletes. The Virginia Boat Club offers numerous rowing classes for both beginner and advanced rowers, and Willis claims he in fact learned to row on a whim four years ago as a participant in one of these classes.
 
“I encourage everyone to try rowing,” he said. “It’s a good supplementary sport, a great way to stay in shape and a lot of fun to be on the water.”