This weekend, Sagamore Rowing Club will be hosting a unique event as a way to raise awareness for their program: rowing at the mall.
“Every kid wants to go to the mall,” said Emanuel Delgado, the head coach and program director for Sagamore Rowing Association. “I thought this would be a creative way to get the word out.”
Sagamore Rowing has a Learn to Row program this summer for teenagers, and they are trying to get more kids interested in learning the sport. The team members will hold an ergathon at Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington on Saturday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone will take a 15-minute shift throughout the day, and they will tally up the number of meters at the end of the day to see how many they can accumulate. Plus, there will be a slideshow and coaches will be on hand, offering pamphlets and answering questions people might have about the program.
“We just want to let people know that we are an option for the summer,” Delgado said.
The boathouse itself is “tucked away” on West End Avenue in Oyster Bay, between Beekman Beach and Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park.
“You’re not just going to stumble upon the rowhouse,” Delgado said. “We have to do things to let people know we’re here.”
He said the club has 30 kids involved in the winter rowing program—ranging in age from seventh through 12th grade—and he expects 60 this spring.
Delgado joined Sagamore Rowing Association in mid-September 2014, moving to the area from Saratoga Springs. Since coming on board, he has revamped the club’s safety protocol, implementing brand new safety guidelines so that they are able to grow the club’s member base and expand their services, which he said is a “source of pride” for him.
He has done some professional development with the coaches and had the opportunity to bring 16 kids to Washington, DC, for an indoor rowing race.
Sagamore Rowing had its start in Oyster Bay in the 1970s and recently celebrated its 42nd anniversary.
“The club is growing rapidly,” said Commodore Spencer Ross. “It’s a great sport and getting more popular.”
In addition to the junior high and high school age program, the club offers a college program, a masters program, travel teams, recreational rowers and camp rowers. Ross said they currently boast a total of more than 400 members.
“It’s one of the oldest sports in the U.S.,” Ross said, noting that it began in the 1840s. “What’s great about rowing is that it is a sport for life—you can do it at any age.”
Visit www.sagamorerowing.org.
