The St. Catharines Rowing Club is a non-profit organization located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
It has a long history of rowing excellence and community service dating back over more than a century.
Founded in 1903 Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St. Catharines) the fifth SCRC clubhouse is now located on Henley Island in the Martindale Pond.
Club singlets consist of alternating cerise and blue (club colours) horizontal stripes.
The SCRC shares facilities with the Brock University Rowing Club, Ridley Graduate Rowing Club, Rowing Alumni, Henley Island Helpers, the Canadian Henley Rowing Corporation (CHRC), local high schools, dragon boats and the people of the niagara region.
The SCRC has been host to two World Rowing Championships in 1970 and 1999 and Annually hosts two national championships: the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association (CSSRA) Championships. In 2010 SCRC will host the FISA World Masters Championships and in 2015 the Rowing component of the Pan American Games.
Several other regattas associated with the SCRC are the Early Bird and Mother's Day (both High School) Regattas and the SCRC Invitational (which in 2007 included the CanAmMex Junior competitors) club regatta. Central Ontario Rowing Association (CORA) Regattas are also hosted by the SCRC as well as a myriad of Youth and Recreational Rowing League Regattas.
SCRC members are also instrumental in other Regattas hosted by Brock University (Invitational and University Championships), Ridley (Sprints, Head of the Martindale, Round the Island) and the Niagara Dragon Boat Club.
Doug Kerr (President), Brian Fisher (VP, Finance), Tim Dumont (VP, Rowing), Louise Hastings (VP, Special Projects), Jane Jarvis (Secretary)
Janet Lancaster (Youth Rowing School), Greg Lancaster (Bldg Maintenance), Carl MacCulloch (Insurance) , Elaine Manocha (Awards), Larry Masse (Treasurer), Gino Mastracci, Don Rickers (Promotion), Jennifer Stephenson (Special Events), Brian Thorne (Membership), Diane VanKleef (Bldg Maintenance), Wernher Verbraeken, James Walker (Digital Assets), Iain Wilson (Workshop/Grounds)
Don Markarian (Past President), Mark Welsh (Head Coach/Manager)
The SCRC has extensive programming available for the Niagara Region...including Competitive, Masters, Recreational and Youth Rowing.
This program (summer and fall) is for males and females that turn 15 or 16 during the current year. For safety reasons it is expected that every member will have already rowed one season with their high school. The junior B's are a highly competitive and successful group with intentions of winning gold at Henley every year. Some athletes that train in the program have realistic goals of representing Canada in the future.
This program (summer and fall) is for males and females turning 17 or 18 during the current year. The Junior A's are a highly competitive and successful group with intentions of winning gold at Henley every year. Some athletes that train in the program have realistic goals of representing Canada in the future.
This program (summer and fall) is for males and females under 23 in the current year. The senior b's are a highly competitive and successful group with intentions of winning gold at Henley every year. Some athletes that train in the program have realistic goals of representing Canada in the future.
This program (summer and fall) is for males and females of any age unless they are considering the masters program. The senior's are a highly competitive and successful group with intentions of winning gold at Henley every year. Some athtlete that train in the program have realistic goals of representing Canada in the future.
This program (spring, summer, fall) is for men and women that turn 27 or older during the current year. The competitive master’s age categories are: A – 27 to 35 B - 36 to 42 C - 43 to 49 D - 50 to 54 E - 55 to 59 F – 60 to 64 G – 65 to 69 H – 70 & over The majority of masters have their own singles so that training and competition can be done on their own time and pace. Limited club equipment is allocated to masters of the rowing club due to the higher numbers of junior and senior competitive athletes.
Spring Competitive Rowing in St. Catharines is considered the high school season. Local secondary schools in the Niagara Region work in partnership with the SCRC to prepare local students for competition in the CSSRA Championships held at year end.
Many of the athletes competing at this level continue rowing with the SCRC in the summer and fall competitive season.
The League rows in two sessions, with members having the ability to participate in both or either. The first session runs from early June to late July, the second covers early August to late September.
Members must be over 21.
A program (using an 8 seat racing shell with a coxswain - accompanied by a safety boat) designed to teach boys and girls ages 10–15 the basics of rowing. Included in the program will be conditioning techniques, along with on the water instruction in a racing shell.
The first week of the program is dedicated to familiarization with equipment and safety. On-water instruction begins week 2. The students will average four days per week of on-water instruction, weather permitting. When they are not on the water the students will take part in various on-land activities. Included will be active and quiet games as well as a structured fitness program.