Rowing Strong, Rowing Together, a program for parenting and pregnant teenage girls has pursued the mission of introducing and teaching the sport of rowing to teens who do not typically have access to the sport.

The founders of Rowing Strong, Rowing Together, The Care Center of Holyoke, MA and Mount Holyoke College have been in partnership since 1999 and have taught many teen mothers how to row. Rowing Strong, Rowing Together is sponsored by Newfund and is now a firmly established collaborative of 6 partnerships along the Connecticut River Valley - and is excited to expand!

 

The purpose of Rowing Strong, Rowing Together is to enhance and enrich the education of teen mothers by introducing and teaching the sport of rowing and giving them additional opportunities that enhance their growth and learning.

 

Rowing was chosen for a number of reasons:

- it is a sport that can be learned fairly quickly & easily,
- it provides an opportunity for a number of important lessons that impact self-esteem, community building and the experience of mastery, and
- rowing is a unique combination of the individual and the team. Each girl is dependent on the actions of each rower in the boat, and each girl has the space and ability to focus on her own progress and technique.

Rowing also presents numerous experiential opportunities to learn about physics, spatial relations, science and the environment - all areas these teens are apt to shy away from. And, like most sports, it provides them an outlet. They experience success in this activity and it carries over into other areas of their lives.

 

Rowing sessions occur during the summer months - multi-week sessons with at least 2 practices a week - and culminate in the Young Parents Regatta. Participants learn about water safety, Boat/equipment handling, and about the technique and sport of rowing.

 

For more information about Rowing Strong, Rowing Together contact:
Program Coordinator, Tessa Spillane (rowingstrong@irow.com)

Additional Links:

Mount Holyoke Crew   *     Newfund    *     irow.com     *     Vespoli