NKHS’s athletics program provides numerous opportunities to be part of traditional sports, such as swimming and football. However, what our athletics program needs is the more unconventional sport of rowing. 

Competitive rowing, also known as crew, had its first recorded race in America in 1756 at New York Harbor. Harvard and Yale intercollegiate races in 1852 increased the popularity of the sport and, according to Athletic Scholarships, a scholarship tracking network, it was at one point even more widespread than football. 

As stated in a 2018 The Cranston Herald article, several large high schools in Rhode Island were in the midst of developing crew teams. In fact, Bishop Hendricken High School competed its first season in 2019 and won the New England Novice Championship. Every year the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) holds an annual race for high school teams in Worcester on Lake Quinsigamond.

Rowing is a demanding, but beneficial activity and sport. Rowing on an indoor rower or on the water is a full body workout that builds stamina and strengthens the core, leg, and arm muscles. Rowing is also a team sport, in which athletes must work together in order to succeed.

Our school is already close to Narragansett Boat Club in Providence, which is considered America’s oldest Rowing Club. On the other side of the map, we are also close to URI, whose crew team has sent athletes to the Olympics. Both places offer areas to row, and experienced coaches. 

In contrast to the majority of high school sports, competition in rowing begins at an older age. There are relatively fewer club teams for crew at younger ages. 

Overall, adding a rowing team would round out NK’s athletics program, and would provide greater opportunities for students looking to start a new sport at a later age.