The world of rowing

This Website

is run by Parents, Friends and Alums of Andover Crew to inform and involve parents and alums in the Andover Crew program.

The FALL crew season is the time for fun. Many new students have never been in a rowing boat. The experienced and novice students are mixed together in a process that starts with lots of splashing and little speed through the water. The teams progress with advice and encouragement from the coaches as well as laughter and hard work from the students. Eventually every boat is powering through the water with every oar moving as though the rowers were part of one being. Students who used to run inside at the first drop of rain will soon be happily braving even snow showers for the opportunity to spend the afternoon on the river. Hard to believe? Come and see!

Your students will soon be speaking a new language. You too can learn a little more or understand their new vocabulary

Rowing requires great skill and co-ordination. Here are some extra challenges that a student can try during the school vacation. What about Sculling ?

The program has about 150 girls and boys. They row mostly 'eights' and a few 'fours'

Everyday they are bused to and from the boathouse on the Merrimack River. There is an incredible camaraderie amongst the crew students. Maybe it is the daily bus journey, maybe the shared battle with the elements, maybe the fact that crew is a true team effort? Maybe it is just the shared experience of a few hours together away from the pressure of schoolwork? It is a pleasure to see this happy relaxed group working hard and having fun together.

Spring term is racing season. The competitive spirit kicks in as they start training for races. Andover competes against schools from all over the North East such as Exeter, Kent, NMH, St Paul's, St. John's, Tabor and others. Andover also competes at the New England Interscholastic Regatta (NEIRA) in May.

Spring is also the time for parents and friends to join in with practical help and support. The Saturday races are almost full day events with Andover fielding from 6 to 10 boats against the competition. Supporters travel to the races and provide our teams with food and drink throughout the day. If you have been to any of the races, you will know the extraordinary amount of nourishment required to support a hard racing team. The support and encouragement of the parents and fellow racers contributes greatly to the team. The races are also fun events for students and parents together. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come, even if you can only make it to one of the races. If you live far away you can make a contribution that will be used to provide the food for the races and the end of season barbecue.

Apart from the school website, this website is the primary source for information. For more interactive and immediate news we have a Facebook group "Friends of Andover Crew". For real time race results we use a twitter account called "andovecrew". We have also started a Linkedin group called "Andover Crew". Membership of these groups is open to Parents, Friends and Alumni of Andover Crew.

Over the years parents and friends have also supported the program with donations of equipment. In the past few years donations have paid for trips overseas, new ergs, new docks, launches and of course new racing boats. With up to 8 racing boats for each of the boys and girls, the hand-me-down boats are pretty old and battered by the time they reach the lower boats even if they are passed on every couple of years. The process needs new boats every year. In recent years we have completed the fleet of launches and added new boats. We race Vespoli V1s for the higher boats and Vespoli Advantages for the lower boats. These are the fastest boats for the level skill and weight of the rowers.

At the very least, crew will allow your student to have fun, exercise, make new friends and learn a new skill. It may also be the start of a life long passion.

Rowing is a strange behavior. For about 5 minutes the rowers put out their maximum exertion.They burn an amazing amount of calories stress their muscles. They must eat long before the race to allow their bodies time to process the food. Some types of food are better before the race. Afterwards it is important that they resupply their bodies within about half an hour. Again some foods are more effective for this.

On race day we can have up to 12 races at 10 or 15 minutes intervals so it can take several hours to complete all the races. The teams have to be fed as they come off the water and we have to make sure to pace the food so that there is still food for the last boats.

Since we need a food table for the students and parents sometimes feel hungry too, we might as well turn it into a fun day out although we have to organized to operate under difficult weather situations since rowing is one sport that mostly ignores the weather.

Go Blue!!