USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C om mu n it y Ne w sp ap er is a publ ic at ion of Es c a mbi a-S a nt a R os a B a r A ss o c i at ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icia l Ci rcu it Section A, Page 1
Vol. 22, No. 41
V isit T he S ummation W eekly O nline : SummationWeekly.com
October 12, 2022
1 Section, 8 Pages
ROWING RE VIVAL PENSACOL A ROWING CLUB REVIVES THE SPORT OF ROWING by Darien Hardy
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id you know that Pensacola has a history of rowing that dates back to as early as the 1800s? The Southern Racing Association held regattas that would attract hundreds of people to the gulf waters. Nearly 120 years later, with the help of Pensacola’s geographic location in the Florida panhandle, Pensacola’s rowing community has become larger-than-life. It is one of the Pensacola Rowing Club’s (PRC) goals to become a rowing mecca in this region. Rowing was brought back to the city in 2013 by a group of doctors and former university varsity rowers beginning their careers in Pensacola. With the help of Bob Ozburn, Dr. Tom Schneider and a few Pensacola residents with personal connections to other rowing communities, the Pensacola Rowing Club was born in 2015. With the opportunity to use the calm waters of Bayou Texar to introduce the sport of rowing to the families of Pensacola, these rowers used only one hand-me-down eight-seat boat to recruit students and adults to the first ever Learn to Row (LTR) program. Even with short notice and little advertising, 70 people showed up for the program; the surprisingly large turnout proved the significant interest for rowing in the Pensacola area. The club’s boats and other equipment were initially stored on the bayou’s shoreline in two industrial-sized shipping containers, with the boats stacked on wooden racks adjacent to them. Then, in 2019, thanks to the generosity of the City of Pensacola Parks & Recreation Department, the PRC gained approval to begin storing their boats and equipment in a portion of the newly-constructed Bayview Park Community and Resource Center. According to Tim Taylor, PRC’s treasurer, the PRC has had a relationship with the city for 15 years. The Bayview Park Community and Resource Center had previously served as a gymnasium prior to being destroyed by Hurricane Sally. During this time, the PRC was operating from the Community Center parking lot. They made a deal with the city to use a third of the boathouse for a fee, and they moved into the building in 2019. “The city is helping us keep rowing in Pensacola,” Taylor said. For the past nine years, the
PRC has acquired used boats in every rowing category. The boats will, on average, age 20 to 25 years before needing to be replaced again, so keeping the boats in the best condition possible is essential. “We strive to keep our boats safe to row and available to use,” June Czerniawski, Director of Rowing for the PRC, said. Czerniawski recently moved to Pensacola from Chicago, where her love and knowledge of rowing began. Czerniawski’s rowing experience in Chicago included being a team captain, safety officer on the Chicago River and regatta director, as well as two years running for the Chicago Sprints, a two-day event that attracts around 600 athletes each year. Currently, she is a competitive rower with around 45 medals in all classes of boats at the Masters National Level, Midwest and NE regional Regattas events. Today’s membership of the club has grown to about 65 men, women and youth with ages ranging from 14 to 79 years old, from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. “We bring the sport of rowing to all, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age and national origin. Rowing is truly a sport for anyone,” Czerniawski said. Rowing in Pensacola is accessible, affordable and offers excellent mental and physical health benefits as a bonus. “Guided by our mission statement goal of providing equitable and universal access to the sport of rowing, our dedicated and hard-working membership offers several programs and events to the people of Pensacola,” Czerniawski explained. Each year, the PRC hosts a minimum of three LTR Events held on Saturday mornings for area residents to learn about the sport of rowing for free. The club will conduct as many two-hour lessons as needed to accommodate those who show up wanting to learn how to row.
During the lessons, the coaches teach the parts of a boat and have students practice learning the stroke on a rowing machine, followed by an on-the-water experience with skilled rowers in the boat. In addition to the LTR program, the PRC hosts adult and junior rowing programs. Adult rowing training programs are offered to novice rowers three times a year, with each one being four weeks long. Each class is two hours long and are offered two weekday evenings and two weekend mornings. A three-month membership to the club is included so novice rowers can practice with experienced club members before deciding if they want to join the club. The PRC offers junior training sessions three times a year and a shorter summer program at the end of the school year. Fall, winter, and spring training sessions are three to four days weekly for three months. Practice times are from 4 to 6 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays, and from 8 to 10 am on some Saturdays. Adjustments are made to the practice schedule depending on the season. The PRC junior training program is open to all skill levels, from those who are novice rowers to those who are experienced. The PRC offers scholarships to those who are unable to pay the program fees. “Junior programs across the country commonly provide scholarships, and our policy is consistent with other clubs,” Czerniawski explained. “In addition to improving physical fitness, rowing teaches the valuable life skills of teamwork, trust, integrity, discipline, perseverance and leadership. Youth participating in sports have better mental and physical health, 40 percent higher test scores, 15 percent more are likely to go to college and 8 percent have higher future earnings,” Czerniawski said. Although the PRC provides scholarships to deserving students in financial need, the club also wants to prepare students through training to put them in the position of being able to receive collegiate scholarships through rowing. Opportunities for college scholarships in competitive rowing exist for
2nd Annual OAR Festival When: October 15, from 10 am to 2 pm Where: Bayview Park, 2001 E. Lloyd St. The Pensacola Outdoor Adventure and Recreation Festival (OAR Fest) will host the 2nd Annual OAR Fest on October 15 from 10 am to 2 pm at Bayview Park (2001 E Lloyd St.) where members of the community are invited to come out for a day of free kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, windsurfing and instructional rowing demonstrations. Local vendors will be onsite to showcase other outdoor recreational opportunities, specialized gear and to promote environmental stewardship and education. Concessions from local food truck vendors will be available for purchase. This festival will also feature a fun and competitive paddling race for both veteran paddlers and those interested in trying the sport for the first time. The mission of the OAR Fest is to showcase paddling and outdoor recreation experiences within the Pensacola Bay area and provide environmental education that ensures these recreational opportunities will be available to Pensacola citizens and visitors for generations to come. All ages are welcome to attend this no-cost family-friendly event. For complete event details and to register for the competitive paddle race, visit OARFest.com.
all youths. Notably, rowing offers more college scholarships to women who row than those playing basketball and softball combined. Collegiate rowing scholarships for women are second in number only to the number of football scholarships available for men. To kick off the fall rowing season, the PRC conducts a junior rowing training camp for five consecutive days practicing for two hours each day. The PRC wants to bring the sport of rowing to youth and adults in our community. The club’s primary goal is to make rowing accessible to youth of all backgrounds and offer scholarships to those in need. Eventually, the PRC is looking to double the size of the juniors program. “This cause is near and dear
to my heart,” Czerniawski explained. “That’s why I’m in this job, for the juniors.” Liam Jenkins, a coach for the PRC, rowed for five years in Michigan competing at regional and national competitions over those years. He then started helping run the middle school LTR camps in 2019 and in the next year took over and ran the camps himself. Last fall, Jenkins moved to coach alongside Ukrainian Olympian Vikto Grebennykov, whom he had raced with at the US Rowing Summer National Competition in the Summer of 2021. Grebennykov mentioned the opportunity to move to Pensacola to help build the PRC’s juniors program. “Rowing is almost an art form. There’s no other feeling like taking a boat out early in the morning when the water is as flat as glass,” Jenkins said. “The aspect of working as a team, when a boat finally clicks and everyone moves together. It’s a full sensory experience as well as getting to spend time on the water while you’re staying fit.” On the water, rowers find peace and calm in the repetitive and synchronized nature of the rowing stroke. A team’s rhythm working together in precise timing creates a sense of belonging and common purpose. Rowing can lead to signif icantly better mental fitness when combined with the other benefits of reduced stress, less anxiety and depression, improved confidence, better cognitive function, and concentration abilities. The physical benefits are incredible because rowing uses 96 percent of the body’s muscles. Rowing is a total body, low-impact workout that increases strength and flexibility and improves cardiovascular health and stamina. Pairing a positive mental space with the physical benefits of rowing aids our youth and adults to live healthier and happier lives. “No rower would say it is an easy sport, but they would all say the work is so worth the effort,” Czerniawski said. To learn more about the Pensacola Rowing Club and upcoming events, visit pensacolarowing.org. •
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