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Rowers launch facility, sport
Great Miami Rowing Center officially opens with Hamilton team
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
HAMILTON — They didn't move fast or even straight. In fact, they mostly just floated.
But as ripples from their oars spread to the banks of the Great Miami River, five first-time rowers made history.
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The Great Miami Rowing Center is officially open for Butler County colleges and high schools. It is recruiting and will offer a training course on competitive rowing. New members of the Miami University Hamilton rowing team carry their boat under the High-Main Bridge to the dock. The Miami University Hamilton students are part of the college's first competitive rowing team. And their practice on the river Wednesday marked the start of activity by the new Great Miami Rowing Center.
Three rowing center board members, including Nancy Wiley — chairwoman of Hamilton's Vision 2020 Commission, where the center got its start — stood by to witness the sunset launch, which also drew a few curious onlookers along the High-Main Bridge.
"We have a lot of really athletic kids on the Miami Hamilton team, and I think they can do really, really well," said Coach Emilie Graham, 25, a former University of Cincinnati rower. "It's just a matter of teaching them how to row."
That's what Wednesday's practice was all about. Graham called out to each team member: Lean forward, put your oar in the water, pull back, repeat.
The eager athletes also learned how to carry their boat, how to put it in the water and how to sit in it. Practice makes perfect.
Graham hopes to be ready for a regatta later this year. The team of 10, though inexperienced, can't wait. It's why they joined, they said.
"I've been interested in rowing," freshman Garrett Dienno, 19, said. "I've done rock climbing (and) outdoor sports. They're starting a brand new project — why not get involved?"
Sophomore Nick Bourquein, 23, is building a kayak but has never been involved in sports.
The others have participated in soccer, rugby and track.
Graham said their lack of rowing experience isn't really a handicap. Most rowers wait until high school or college to get involved. And the lessons learned last a lifetime, she said.
"Rowing has a very strong adult following."
Great Miami Rowing Center hopes to spark teens' interest
With boats now in the water, the Great Miami Rowing Center is opening its doors to people of all ages — high school and older — to make the most of the boats and the Great Miami River.
A team of about 10 students from Miami University Hamilton, five of whom are beginners, have begun practicing, and GMRC Executive Director Frances Mennone and coach Emilie Graham are meeting with athletic directors at all of Butler County's high schools to drum up interest in creating a high school club team this spring.
They said participation in the sport can be a great way to get acceptance and scholarships at East Coast Ivy League schools.
Rowing is also compatible with other sports, because it has multiple seasons, and athletes can join at any point during the year, Graham said.
"Our goal is to have a full novice roster (of about 30)," she said, adding she would welcome even more. "Rowing is one of those amazing sports where the bigger the better."
The Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club sold four boats to the Hamilton nonprofit group to get it started. Twenty-eight athletes can fit in the two "fours" and two "eights." In addition to the rowers, each boat holds a coxswain at the front who calls out directions and cadences to the others.
Although it owes its beginning to the city-sponsored Vision 2020 Commission, the GMRC is funded entirely by private donations.
That money paid for Mennone, a former Liberty Twp. resident, to act as a consultant to get the program started. She recently completed a contract in Chicago to create a juniors rowing program and was able to secure $330,000 from the state to build a boathouse on the Chicago River.
She secured the boats, a temporary storage facility on B Street north of Park Avenue, a part-time coach and a dock, which is anchored on the southwest side of the High-Main Bridge.
"The need for dredging (the river) is there if the city wants to be able to host large events," Mennone said. "But the river is usable and rowable in its current state. We just can't host anything with six lanes."
She said the GMRC does plan to host smaller regattas in the future.
One of her proudest accomplishments to date, she said, is getting the Miami Conservancy District to double the amount of warning buoys near the low-level dam, where two Hamilton firefighters were injured in April during a training exercise.
"Those buoys are going to be beneficial to not just the rowing community," Mennone said. "The safety at the dam has been a big issue for me. At the very least we've created a bigger awareness about that issue."
Plans to use the river as a rowing venue have been in place since Hamilton's Vision 2020 Commission released its comprehensive plan in 2001. The vision got new life in 2005 when a University of Cincinnati rowing coach expressed interest in the river as a racing venue.
Learn to Row
The Great Miami Rowing Center is offering classes starting today through Oct. 27.
Where: 110 N. B St., Hamilton
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Who: Teens 14 and older and adults of all ages.
Info: GMRC has all of the equipment needed to row. Rowers should wear shorts and a T-shirt, socks and tennis shoes. A water bottle is recommended as there is no access to water when on the river.
Cost: $135 to cover coaching, equipment rental and site maintenance.
Contact: Call Coach Emilie Graham at (513) 328-7058, e-mail coach@greatmiamirowing.com or visit greatmiamirowing.com.