'Small But Mighty' Aims for Rowing Nationals
Donation protected
HT Boys Quad is now the 5th fastest in the nation, a ranking established at this morning's finals of the US Rowing Youth Nationals Championship. The team of Vincent Fitzpatrick, Jack Haigh, Nick Perks and Jack Savell (below with coaches) rowed hard the entire race and crossed the finish line at 6:18:409 with nothing left to give. They made all of us so very proud. Congratulations to them and to the other six HT rowers who also traveled to Nationals: Fionna Steele, Maya Jacobson, Alex Tingley, Sara Ladik, Olivia Hollingsworth and Emily Donohue . Just qualifying for the right to compete is a significant accomplishment and marks you among the best young rowers in the country. A huge thank you to the coaching staff who've built a competitive program while instilling the best of crew values - sportsmanship, teamwork and perseverance: Gregg Francis, Anthony Fittipaldi, Keith Ferguson and Kathleen. Of course, it is because of the generosity of our donors and sponsors that the Haddon Township Rowing Club continues to provide a quality rowing for Haddon Township. You too share in our succcess.
I have been posting updates throughout the competition and hope they've gotten through. Apologies if they have not. Here's a recap AND some very, very exciting news from this morning. The boys quad will compete in the A Final at Nationals on Sunday after finishing in the top three of today's semi-finals. Making the A Final at Nationals is a first for the team and quite an accomplishment for any boat. Yesterday, the girls quad took second in the D Finals, leading all the way down the course until the final second. Actually the last 2/10ths of a second - that was the margin between first and second place. The girls double, also in the D Finals, put in a strong performance pushing hard throughout the 2,000 meter race. Below the girl's and coaches relax after Friday's competition.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We reached our goal. Correction...'we' didn't really do it. You did -- family members, friends, former rowers, former crew parents, crew coaches, founding members of HT crew, rowing enthusiasts - you gave from your heart and you gave generously. The rowers are honored and a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to their appeal for assistance. The pride they have in representing their community before a national audience is well deserved. Today was their last day of practice on Cooper River. You can see the determination in the faces of the girls varsity quad. Tomorrow all 10 rowers will board a plane for Florida and an amazing experience that you made possible.
We are more than halfway to our goal! Thank you friends, supporters and former team members for your generosity in helping Haddon Township Rowing to compete at US Rowing Youth Nationals. Up before dawn today (and every practice day) the ten young rowers shown below are working hard to represent their team and community at US Rowing Youth Nationals. With less than a week to go, let's work just as hard as these young athletes to raise the money to help them get there.
I am President of the Haddon Township Rowing Club, a modest sized scholastic program in South Jersey with fewer than 30 rowers. What we lack in numbers is compensated for by a fierce team spirit, intense drive and love of sport. How else would we have qualified 10 rowers (boys varsity quad, girls varsity quad and girls varsity double) more than a third of the team, to compete in the US Rowing Youth Nationals in Florida.
If history repeats itself (we participated in Nationals in 2015 and 2017), HTR will be one of the few public schools at Nationals. It is an extraordinary opportunity for our young athletes to test themselves against the nation's best. I have no doubt they their efforts and performance will make Haddon Township proud. I am consistently impressed by these young people. They willingly demand the best of themselves. They welcome daily 5 am practices because river conditions are best at dawn. They shrug off snow squalls, torrential downpours and sauna-like weather as long as they can be on the river, perfecting their technique. My daughter no longer rows with the team having left for college 4 years ago. I stayed on to help out. Like so many crew parents I witnessed the transformative power of this particular sport and was hooked. More than any other athletic endeavor, crew builds strong skills in leadership, teamwork , and persistence. You have to prove yourself worthy to compete at nationals. We did. At City Championships our boys varsity quad took gold and the girls varsity quad earned a silver medal. The girls varsity double earned its right to compete with a 1st place finish at Garden States.
I am asking for your support on behalf of 10 very impressive young adults. All money raised will be used pay the costs of travel,air fare to and from Florida, car rental, 4-night hotel stay, food, race fees and boat transport. Yes, the boats will also be traveling to Florida and that costs as well. Nationals is a four day event, actually five days because rowers need at least one day on site to practice.
The team receives no financial support from the school district or any government agency. We rely upon fees, sponsors and the generosity of friends and crew lovers. Anything you can contribute will help. No amount is too little.
Worth noting - only 2 of the 10 rowers heading to Nationals are seniors. Small but Mighty!
I have been posting updates throughout the competition and hope they've gotten through. Apologies if they have not. Here's a recap AND some very, very exciting news from this morning. The boys quad will compete in the A Final at Nationals on Sunday after finishing in the top three of today's semi-finals. Making the A Final at Nationals is a first for the team and quite an accomplishment for any boat. Yesterday, the girls quad took second in the D Finals, leading all the way down the course until the final second. Actually the last 2/10ths of a second - that was the margin between first and second place. The girls double, also in the D Finals, put in a strong performance pushing hard throughout the 2,000 meter race. Below the girl's and coaches relax after Friday's competition.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We reached our goal. Correction...'we' didn't really do it. You did -- family members, friends, former rowers, former crew parents, crew coaches, founding members of HT crew, rowing enthusiasts - you gave from your heart and you gave generously. The rowers are honored and a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to their appeal for assistance. The pride they have in representing their community before a national audience is well deserved. Today was their last day of practice on Cooper River. You can see the determination in the faces of the girls varsity quad. Tomorrow all 10 rowers will board a plane for Florida and an amazing experience that you made possible.
We are more than halfway to our goal! Thank you friends, supporters and former team members for your generosity in helping Haddon Township Rowing to compete at US Rowing Youth Nationals. Up before dawn today (and every practice day) the ten young rowers shown below are working hard to represent their team and community at US Rowing Youth Nationals. With less than a week to go, let's work just as hard as these young athletes to raise the money to help them get there.
I am President of the Haddon Township Rowing Club, a modest sized scholastic program in South Jersey with fewer than 30 rowers. What we lack in numbers is compensated for by a fierce team spirit, intense drive and love of sport. How else would we have qualified 10 rowers (boys varsity quad, girls varsity quad and girls varsity double) more than a third of the team, to compete in the US Rowing Youth Nationals in Florida.
If history repeats itself (we participated in Nationals in 2015 and 2017), HTR will be one of the few public schools at Nationals. It is an extraordinary opportunity for our young athletes to test themselves against the nation's best. I have no doubt they their efforts and performance will make Haddon Township proud. I am consistently impressed by these young people. They willingly demand the best of themselves. They welcome daily 5 am practices because river conditions are best at dawn. They shrug off snow squalls, torrential downpours and sauna-like weather as long as they can be on the river, perfecting their technique. My daughter no longer rows with the team having left for college 4 years ago. I stayed on to help out. Like so many crew parents I witnessed the transformative power of this particular sport and was hooked. More than any other athletic endeavor, crew builds strong skills in leadership, teamwork , and persistence. You have to prove yourself worthy to compete at nationals. We did. At City Championships our boys varsity quad took gold and the girls varsity quad earned a silver medal. The girls varsity double earned its right to compete with a 1st place finish at Garden States.
I am asking for your support on behalf of 10 very impressive young adults. All money raised will be used pay the costs of travel,air fare to and from Florida, car rental, 4-night hotel stay, food, race fees and boat transport. Yes, the boats will also be traveling to Florida and that costs as well. Nationals is a four day event, actually five days because rowers need at least one day on site to practice.
The team receives no financial support from the school district or any government agency. We rely upon fees, sponsors and the generosity of friends and crew lovers. Anything you can contribute will help. No amount is too little.
Worth noting - only 2 of the 10 rowers heading to Nationals are seniors. Small but Mighty!
Organizer
Beth Wilkinson
Organizer
Collingswood, NJ