Learn to Row for Free June 4th

written by Brock Sampson

As you can imagine, I am often asked how to get into rowing. Here at Austin Rowing Club, there are many ways, such as Intro to Rowing Classes and Private Lessons. But hey, shouldn’t there be a way to jump into rowing without paying a dime! Well, the time has come! On June 4th, you can row for FREE!

USRowing, the non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the U.S., and Concept2, the oar and ergometer manufacturer based in Morrisville, Vt., have asked rowing clubs and health clubs across the country to open their doors and give people a taste of rowing on the water and on the ergometer. More than 100 clubs throughout the United States are expected to participate.

• Date: June 4th, 2010
• Time: 10am – 4PM
• Location: Austin Rowing Club

Click here for more information from Austin Rowing Club’s Learn to Row for Free Day. Please be advised that, due to the high number of participants, you must CLICK HERE TO RSVP!!. (on the RSVP page, please look for the National Learn To Row classes while scrolling to the bottom of page.)

Junior Parent Learn-to-Row Day

With beautiful weather and calm water the annual juniors parent learn-to-row day was held this past Sunday.  The parents start with a crash course on the ergs, learning the basics of the stroke and terminology under the watchful eye of their kids.  Parents quickly absorb the information and we head to the boathouse for a tour of the boats and equipment handling.

 

Before long our brave parents  are leaving the docks in an eight with the kids rowing in the front of the boat to show the parents what to do.

Rowing in pairs each group of parents has the chance to row for the first time.  We then add more rowers into the mix and finally we have everyone rowing.  Parents quickly learn it is harder than it looks but also pick it up quickly and we are really moving along.  We finish with 10 hard strokes to see how fast we can go!  Along the way the parents learn first hand what a crab is like as well as sore hands and backside.  All have a great time and learn a little about the sport that their children have embraced.

Lake Clean Up – Saturday, Feb. 13th 9:00am

From ARC membership director, Jack Graham:

ARC is joining Keep Austin Beautiful and Austin Sierra Club in the
Lady Bird Lake Cleanup this Saturday, Feb. 13th, 9:00am.

This workday is focused on OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! Congress Bridge to I-35,
North Shore. The vegetation is frozen back so most of the work is
onshore rather than from kayaks, this time.

Sign up to help at:

KAB <http://www.keepaust inbeautiful. org/LadyBirdLake CleanupFebruary1 3>

OR

Sierra Club – Michael Portman <michael.portman@ wellsfargeadviso rs.com>

OR

Meetup – Austin Sierra Club
<http://www.meetup. com/Austin- Sierra-Club- Outings/calendar /12511068/>

If you are rowing Saturday morning, join in the Clean Up after your
row. We can start from our docks rather than the official meetup
point which is Holiday Inn I-35.

Prizes and refreshments by: Austin Rowing Club, Birds Barbershop,
Dominican Joe, Green Feet Fitness, Holy Cacao, Love Puppies Brownies,
Trailer Perk, & Uchi.

Let’s have a good turnout from ARC! Show up for the home team!

Waller Creek Clean-up Recap

We had a great showing at the Waller Creek clean-up organized by the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Alliance despite the grey and drizzly weather this past Saturday.  ARC members Elizabeth Gardner ( Comp Women’s team),  Barbara Gibson, Waneen Spirduso, Sue Simmer (all from POSH), Peter Strothes, Doug Simmer, Vince Perez, Brock Sampson, Erik Cornet, Tony Hamilton, Charlie Brady, Ron Yaw(all from Comp Men’s team), Jack Graham (Sweep L8), Jarod Onthank, Karen Menezes (Clean Sweep) all came down to help out.

Following the break is a first hand account from Doug Simmer as well as more pics!

Neighbor Learn to Row Recap

Virginia Hoffman organized a free Learn to Row day for our neighbors this past Sunday.  Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate but despite the cold and the drizzle, we were still able to get two eights out on the water.  Keep tuned, we’ll have another free LTR day in the spring and hopefully better weather.

From Virginia:

Amazing!

That’s the best word I have for describing this team of people that make ARC great — meaning “Y’all”.

I’ve seen this organization pull off big events by pure volunteer power before, but it never fails to awe me. Please accept my heartfelt thanks and awe again!

And in the end, we still had neighbors show up – enough that we put out two eights!

Below are a couple of pics from the day; check out more here!

Show Waller Creek some love

Here’s a great volunteer opportunity organized by the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association.  Weather is supposed to be awesome this Saturday and so come on out, even if you can’t make it until later.

Show Waller Creek some love

The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association invites citizens to come out at 9am on Saturday, December 12th in Palm Park for a long overdue Waller Creek Cleanup.

This beautiful stretch of green running through downtown is badly in need of a cleaning. Volunteers will meet in Palm Park on 3rd Street just east of Red River. Children are welcome, but must remain under adult supervision. There are myriad tasks at hand with this cleanup: from bagging trash and sweeping walkways to lifting heavy items out of the creek bed. Following the clean up, Solid Waste Services will remove the trash and debris.

Moonshine Grill http://www.moonshinegrill.com/ has generously offered to provide lunch for the volunteers.

If you have any questions, please call Greg Anderson at 512-426-1041 ganderson@andrewsurban.com