Star Oars

Dublin Crew celebrates 20 years of exertion and camaraderie

The Dublin Crew this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The competitive club team fields four squads: novice men, novice women, varsity men and varsity women.

The team is open to all local students. In addition to all three Dublin high schools, team members also hail from Bishop Watterson High School, as well as high schools in the Olentangy Local and Worthington City school districts. The team’s policy of inclusiveness ensures that everyone who signs up for the team gets to row.

Rowing is strenuous work, so team members must attend all practices and keep in rowing condition – running, swimming, cross-training, weight training and use of rowing machines are all part of the regimen. Team members must also steel themselves for the pressure of competition – using that energy to propel themselves forward.

“Just the feeling of sitting at the start and waiting for the official to call the time” is how team member Mac Workman, a senior at Dublin Jerome High School, describes his favorite part of rowing.

And being part of the team means more than just being physically capable; teamwork is extremely important and is emphasized at every turn.

“You’re either winning as a boat or you’re losing as a boat,” says head coach Gina Crooks.

That dedication to camaraderie and working as a cohesive unit often forms strong bonds between team members, who remain great friends after their high school rowing days are over. Some earn scholarships to continue rowing in college; one former student was even part of The Ohio State University rowing team that captured the Big Ten Rowing Championship in 2011.

“I think they realize that they were really part of something special,” Crooks says.

The importance of teamwork is a lesson many team members carry with them, and it’s one that has applicability beyond the river and rowing machines.

“I really like the idea that there’s no standout star individual,” says team member Bailey Irelan, a senior at Jerome.

“You’re only going to be as strong as your weakest link,” says Olivia Gugliemotto, a senior at Dublin Coffman High School.

The crew’s spring competitions kick off April 14 with the Lindamood Cup in Marietta. Local regattas this season include the Hoover Invitational at the Hoover Reservoir in Westerville, set for April 21, and the Ohio Governor’s Cup at Griggs Reservoir on April 29. Nationals are in June, and to get there, the team needs to win the Midwest Junior Regional Championships in May.

The Governor’s Cup, which is sponsored by the Dublin Crew, draws more than 1,000 high schoolers from across the country. The team also sponsors the Speakmon Regatta in the fall.

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Though the majority of the team’s competitions are in spring and fall, work for crew members is year-round; a few dedicated team members participate in regattas in the summer, and winter is filled with conditioning. The crew also offers “Learn to Row” programs for young children during the summer.

The team does some of its winter practicing at a facility on West Bridge Street, but when the city of Columbus opens up the Scioto River for rowing in late February or early March, the team’s practices begin to shift to the river – no matter how chilly the weather may be. In fact, the only weather conditions that will shut down a practice are strong winds and lightning. The stretch of the Scioto the team uses to practice is a six-mile round trip – north from Griggs to Hayden Run Road and back.

More information on the team can be found on its website, www.dublincrew.org.

Garth Bishop is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

By ANGEL MuMMA, Deputy City Manager/Director of Finance