Welcome to Rowing P.E.I.

 

Message from Rowing PEI president Sparrow McGowan

August 1, 2020 – We have officially cancelled the Red Island Regatta for 2020. Events are currently not sanctioned by Rowing Canada and so we will not be able to go forward with this year’s event. We look forward to welcoming rowers from across the Atlantic to the 2021 Red Island Regatta!

Updated July 8, 2020: World Rowing’s guidance says that “As an outdoor and non-
contact sport, rowing can be relatively safe due to air flow and distances possible
between athletes when rowing.”

*****Rowing PEI has now moved to Phase #2.

Guidelines remain as in Phase #1 with the exception of restrictions on boats.

Single sculls and doubles are now permitted. Doubles rowing should align with
the following conditions:

● Doubles partners should designate each other as part of their extended”bubble” of close contacts
● Partners must remain consistent throughout training

Phase #3: As of July 21, 2020

Guidelines remain as in Phase #2 with the addition of a modified Learn to Row
program.
The program will include an initial online component, followed by on-the-water training
with modifications.

LTR Training:

● Session #1 –  We will start online, via Zoom, with an introduction to Rowing PEI
and a viewing of the Rowing Canada safety video. (1.5 hours)
● Session #2 – At the Charlottetown Yacht Club: Stroke kit, Rowing machine and
tour of the docks. (1.5 hours)
● Sessions #3  and #4: Participants will row the coastal doubles as a single. One
coach will provide support from the safety boat and a second from another
coastal boat.

Phase #4: TBD
Crew boats may be permitted subject to clarification and advice from Rowing Canada
and various medical authorities. More information will come, when available.

Rowing PEI Update – June 8, 2020
The Rowing PEI board is excited to announce that we are moving ahead with our 2020 on the water season.
We have prepared a Return to Rowing protocol following guidelines from the Chief Public Health Office and Rowing Canada, and the documents have been submitted to Sport PEI.
To begin, we can only use singles and doubles as singles because of physical distancing rules.
That means our Learn to Row program is on hold, for now. We are looking at a creative way to do Learn to Row – from a distance – but we need the water to warm up.
We hope our Learn to Row prospects will be patient. We will be in touch soon.
If you are a returning rower and interested in rowing in June, you will need to attend one of our MANDATORY training sessions on Zoom. Please send us an email if you still need to do the safety training: rowingpei@gmail.com
An individual membership for 2020 is $350. We would appreciate if you can pay by eTransfer to this email address. If you prefer to pay by cheque or cash, please send us an email to make arrangements. You will also need to register online through the Rowing Canada Web Registration System.
FYI – you will need to wear a mask on the dock. So if you don’t have one, this would be a good time to pick one up!  *actually the latest best advice is to have two masks – one for going out, the other for coming back in*
We are still looking for safety boat drivers and other volunteers for this season. Please contact one of our board members (Sparrow/Brian/Nancy/Alex/Daphe/Jamie/Alan) if you are interested in getting more involved in the club.
We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

Your Rowing PEI board – Sparrow, Brian, Nancy, Daphne, Alex, Jamie and Alan

A big thank you to everyone who helped us get the boats and other equipment safely to the dock!

Rowing PEI Update – May 24, 2020

We are getting closer to being on the water for the 2020 season and we thank all of you for your patience and continued support.

Our rowing docks went in at the Charlottetown Yacht Club last weekend. We are deeply appreciative to our friends at the CYC for their work, support and phenomenal collaboration. We offered to help, but they already had a plan to maintain physical distancing and took the lead. One step closer!!

Because of the importance of getting everyone safely back on the water, the Rowing PEI board is meeting weekly to work on our Return to Play plan, in collaboration with Rowing Canada, Sport PEI and the P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness. All sports will be required to prove that they can operate in a safe way, following the guidelines laid out by the Chief Public Health Office.

This will mean some important changes to the way we do our sport: from hand washing, to sanitizing our equipment, to restrictions on how many people on the dock and in boats. There is no “playbook” for how to row during a pandemic. We are doing our best to be as safe as possible while still being able to do the sport we love this summer. Stay tuned for updates!

There will also be new procedures and protocols at the Charlottetown Yacht Club that we will follow as well. There is even a flow pattern for using the washrooms! (If you’re new to rowing, flow patterns are the routes we follow in our boats. Rowing humour!!)

As you may have heard, organized sport is part of phase 3, which is now scheduled to begin on June 1st. We will continue to work towards being ready to row as soon as possible after that date, but only when we have met all the conditions to do it safely. We would add that the water temperature is still below the 4 degrees Celsius threshold to allow us to start rowing under our Rowing PEI safety rules. So you are not missing out on any rowing time!!! Brrrrrrrrr!

In the meantime, we are continuing to run our regular virtual workouts, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If you’re interested in joining, there is a small fee of $40, which will be deducted from your 2020 season fee.

Again, we thank you for your patience. Be sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, including what is happening at other rowing clubs as we all work towards a safe and healthy return to sport. We are Rowing PEI on Facebook and Rowing PEI on Instagram.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at rowingpei@gmail.com.

Hope to see you soon!
Sparrow, Daphne, Nancy, Brian, Alex, Alan and Jamie

Learn to Row 2020

We are taking names now for Learn to Row 2020.    Please email rowingpei@gmail.com to save a spot.

Join Rowing PEI on Facebook and follow us on Instagram!

Here’s a brochure we’ve created to tell you more about Rowing PEI!

Rowing is a great outdoor sport with fantastic scenery.  And it is considered one of the best workouts around!

“When we said full-body we weren’t kidding. There’s just no comparison to cardio exercise that only involves the lower body, such as biking, the elliptical machine, or running on a treadmill. This is a calorie-killing, efficient workout.”

Read more about the benefits of rowing:

If you are goal-oriented, there is also the opportunity for all ages to compete. We will have coached sessions to prepare crews for the Nova Scotia Sprints in mid-July 2020. *may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

We will also host the Red Island Regatta at Brudenell, P.E.I. on Saturday August 22 and August 23, 2020. *may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Our coastal boats are made especially for the wind and wave conditions on the Harbour. We row out of the Charlottetown Yacht Club from May to October.

Cost of Learn to Row is $150

Learn to Row is your entry point to the wonderful sport of rowing! Whether you’re looking for a low impact, full body workout, a way to get out on the water, a chance to meet some great people or a combination, it all starts here.

No experience with water sports is needed and it is a great substitute for exercise after being in the gym all winter.

Read more about Learn to Row.

       

2020 Junior Rowing

Please contact rowingpei@gmail.com if you’d like to come and try rowing, or get more information on the junior program for ages 13 and up.

1st year junior membership is $200 *which includes Learn to Row

Returning junior membership is $350

  

Check out this video from Rowing Canada about our sport.

Row, row, row your boat with us in 2020!

ROWING P.E.I. WELCOMES VISITING ROWERS

WE HAVE A $25 VISITOR’S RATE. ($35 if you are an international rower!) WE WILL PAIR YOU UP WITH SOME OF OUR ROWERS AND PROUDLY SHOW OFF OUR P.E.I. WATERS. DROP US AN EMAIL AT : ROWINGPEI@GMAIL.COM TO BOOK A SEAT IN 2020!

SAVE THE DATE!

The Red Island Regatta will be back at beautiful Brudenell, P.E.I. on Saturday August 22 and Sunday August 23, 2020!  We will be changing up the format. There will be flat water sprints Saturday morning and 4 km coastal races Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning will be all beach sprints, with some new challenges for 2020!

We will wrap up by noon Sunday for our visiting rowers. Saturday post-racing, we will be serving P.E.I. baked potatoes and mussels.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Rowing PEI greatly appreciates the support of the Legacy Trust Fund in growing our coaching and officiating capacity in 2019.

Thanks to everyone who was part of the first ever Indoor Rowing Day in Canada – Coast to Coast 2020 on Saturday February 22, 2020!

Here on P.E.I., we had 50 participants and rowed more than 200 kilometres in 3 hours. We can’t wait to do it again in 2021!

Photo Highlights from Rowing PEI