Overview
The 2011-2012 rowing season will be our 10th year of rowing as a team representing James Madison High School in Vienna, VA. Our home rowing facility is at Sandy Run on the Occoquan. We have won gold, silver and bronze at the VA State Championships and we typically row at Nationals. We row Stotesbury, the oldest scholastic championship regatta in the U.S. held in Philadelphia (May). It is lots of fun, but not mandatory. It is a very exciting time to join, as we are building off a very successful 2011 season
MAD CREW 2011 Results.doc
Orientation for New Members Presentation (PDF format)
Time Commitment
Winter Conditioning starts in November -- not mandatory, but highly recommended. Water training ("in-season" training) starts in mid to late February on the Occoquan at Sandy Run. Attendance is mandatory for in-season training - see attached for JMHS Crew
attendance policy. Rowers and coxswains must tell coaches in advance if they are going to be missing practice. If the athlete is ill, they should e-mail, call, or text message their coach as early in the day as possible to let them know they will not be at practice. (Coaches contact information is on the member's only portion of the website). Students must be in school the entire day to be eligible to participate in any student activities scheduled on that day. Excused absences, such as those for dentist or doctor’s appointments for which the student has a note, are an exception to this. Students who stay at home or leave school early because they feel ill, even if they have a doctor’s note, should not attend practice.
A school bus takes rowers to and from Sandy Run after school (2:45 – 6:45) - families are responsible for transporting the students to Sandy Run for Saturday practice. Until regattas begin in late March, training is 6 days a week (2-3 hr. sessions). Regatta season: 5x days practice --regattas every Saturday-through mid May, followed by Stotesbury and National Regattas. Rowing is a demanding sport, and like most sports, demands a day-in, day-out commitment to practice and improvement.
Spring Break is in the middle of the competitive rowing season so there is always practice!
The Organization
The Crew program is managed and run at the direction of the Board of Directors of James Madison Crew Boosters Organization (JMCBO) . Board members are typically parents of rowers, elected in late spring to one-year terms. Crew is an approved Virginia High School League Interscholastic Sport Activity, though it is a club sport, which means it is financially self-supporting. Madison Crew receives no public funding. The boats, oars, ergometers and other equipment are purchased by JMCBO, and these purchase requirements as well as operating expenses are paid through club dues and through fundraising. Click
here for more detail about the organization. Crew is a club sport competing with varsity status -- click here for our
lettering policy.
JMHS Crew Volunteer Requirements
Madison Crew is a volunteer-run organization. Each family is expected to contribute their time and talents in some way in order to provide the best experience for our rowers. Here is a summary of the parent volunteer requirements for each Madison Crew family:
• One day of bus chaperoning (round-trip) during water practice (Feb.-May) at Sandy Run Regional Park on the Occoquan River. Bus leaves Madison @ 2:45pm and returns @ 6:30-6:45pm.
• Two Regatta/Sandy Run jobs. These are volunteer jobs assigned to Madison by the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association (VASRA). We are fined $50 for any job not completed.
• One hospitality job
• Sign up for one JMCBO committee and participate as necessary. Committees include Hospitality, Operations, Fundraising etc.
• Other “All Hands on Deck” requirements for fundraising (mulch delivery, etc.) as well as JMCBO work days at Sandy Run.
Enrollment Information and Forms
Parents should refer to the JMCBO Handbook for additional information.