About Us
Our Team
Pine Richland Crew offers an activity where students can have fun, make lasting friendships, improve self-confidence and self-esteem, learn the value of team, compete on a regional and national basis, and experience success. All of our students have an opportunity to compete at their level of ability.
The High School Team is comprised of boys and girls in grades 9-12. New rowers are considered Novice and returning rowers are considered Varsity. The High School team typically competes in Regattas in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but has also competed in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Virginia and Massachusetts.
The Development Team is for Middle School boys and girls in grades 7-8. This program provides an opportunity to develop skills and experience before competing at the high school level.
Seasons
Pine-Richland Crew trains throughout the school year. There are two seasons: Season 1 (August-November) and Season 2 (November - June). The seasons include indoor conditioning, indoor sprints, outdoor practices & regattas. Season 1 features Regattas and Season 2 features both Indoor Sprints and Regattas. Placement and participation in these competition opportunities is dependent on attendance and performance.
Practices for the High School Team (Varsity & Novice) are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The Development Team trains Monday and Wednesday. Both the High School and the Development Teams train at Montour Marina during the Season 1 and the second half of Season 2. Bus transportation is provided to and from the boathouse for weekday practices. Transportation to Saturday practices are the responsibility of each rower. During the first half of Season 2, rowers participate in winter conditioning indoors at the Pine-Richland High School stadium.
Registration
Registration occurs prior to each season. A rower can make a decision to not participate on the team within the first two weeks of the season to receive a full refund. After those two weeks, there will be no refund.
Team History
Pine-Richland Crew was founded by Jeanette Burgess in 2002. In 2007, Pine-Richland School District recognized crew as a club sport when the team came under the leadership of Florin Curuea, a former elite rower from the Romanian Olympic team. Thanks to the vision of the school district, as well as its financial support, a rowing program can now be offered to a larger number of students. As a result, opportunities for college scholarships have become increasingly available to students, even without recognition from the WPIAL. Without WPIAL backing, it is still extremely difficult for high school rowing programs to exist, let alone become competitive since all of the club’s expenses must be absorbed by the parents.
Accomplishments
In 2013, Pine-Richland earned a bid to the SRAA National Championship in the Boys Senior Quad. In spring 2014, for the first time in school history, Pine-Richland won medals in multiple events at the Midwest Scholastic Championship, including their first-ever medal in a sweep rowing event, the Girls Varsity Pair.
In addition, Pine-Richland has expanded their schedule to include the prestigious Stotesbury Regatta and the inaugural National Schools' Championship, where the Rams medaled in the Boys JV Double in 2014.
In the fall of 2014, Pine-Richland boats had several notable performances. At Head of the Cuyahoga, the Girls Varsity 4+ captured the silver medal and the Boys Varsity 4+ took the bronze. The team also won medals in the Girls Varsity Double at Head of the Occoquan, and, for the first time in program history, Head of the Schuylkill in the Girls JV Double.
Despite a December 2014 boathouse fire that destroyed all of Pine-Richland's boats and equipment, the team was able to rebound for the most successful spring season to date. At Pittsburgh Scholastic Sprints, Pine-Richland won gold in the Girls Varsity Double, Girls JV Double, Girls Novice Four, Boys Varsity Four, Boys Novice Four, and a silver medal in the Boys Varsity Eight. The team captured silver medals in both the Girls Varsity and JV Double at the Midwest Scholastic Championships. Pine-Richland qualified a team record three boats for Scholastic Nationals. The Boys Varsity Four, Girls Varsity Double, and Girls JV Double all advanced out of their respective heats at Nationals.
