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A trip down memory lane, to RCRC’s founding...

Early days of RCRC Junior Rowing

River City Rowing Club started in 1983 as a few scullers rowing their own boats out of the original UC Davis boathouse and dock, located where our 8s house and dock are now. Two years later, in 1985, the new club built the front portion of what we now call the singles house, and the sweep rowing program was started using a rented 8+.  

The River City Junior program began in 1994 as Harbor Crew and rowed out of the newly completed UC Davis boathouse. In 1995, the program was incorporated as River City Rowing Club. When UC Davis moved to their present location in 1997, RCRC took over their original boathouse. The growing club also took over the 4's house from the Lake Washington Sailing Club.

Arthur Ericsson started the masters revolution at the club with his Learn to Row Program in 1997. Arthur's classes soon were booked all summer long and hundreds of people went through the program during his tenure. A number of these new rowers became the core of the masters program with a significant percentage of the current masters members being graduates of that first Learn to Row Program.

RCRC took another big step forward in 2001 by tearing down the old UC Davis boathouse and erecting a 24 x 100 foot pole barn. Gone were the days of leaky roofs and sloping dirt floors. The new boathouse provided a larger and clean, comfortable, space to work out in.

Today, with growing master and junior rower membership, and expanding annual middle school rowing and learn to row programs, RCRC occupies three boathouses (the 8+, 4+ and 1x’s houses) plus utilizes an offsite area for erg storage and land training. The club’s junior and masters programs have made their mark on the regional, state, national, and even world stage as our rowers have captured titles at all levels or competition and produced successful collegiate rowers, coxswains, and coaches.

...And exciting developments in our expansion!

In our thirty-six years, RCRC has quickly grown from having barely enough people to fill a borrowed eight-person shell, to having over two hundred members and dozens of boats. Now, it seems clear that the club has outgrown its facilities again and needs to expand. New facilities and equipment at the port will offer exciting opportunities for the club to grow and our members to achieve even more in the future.

RCRC is absorbing an acre of land on the other side of the lower parking lot as the first step in this growth. Facilities Director Bill Naddy presented RCRC’s proposed project to the Port Commission early this month and after a very positive reception the Club is now negotiating terms of the lease. We expect the lease to be signed by the end of the year and to become effective in spring 2020. At the same time the Club has started work on official plans and permits. Next steps are to install utilities and begin site work.

To view the slides that were presented to the Port commission, outlining RCRC's need and vision for the expanded area, click here.
FALL NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS
Coach’s Corner
Raul Reynon, Advanced Masters Women’s Team Coach
Over the years, the Advanced Women’s team has had wonderful interactions with Anchorage Rowing Club at regattas in Oregon, Chicago, Tennessee, and New York. After multiple invites, the team was finally able to participate in ARC’s Big Head 5K Regatta in Big Lake, Alaska. The women placed 1st in the WM8+, winning a ‘woodel’ (a first place medal made of wood). They also placed 2nd in the WM4x and WM4+ (by .5 sec). And they tied for 2nd place in the regatta’s traditional 

What's been going on at RCRC?

Junior Rowing
Start of the 2019-2020 Season
The Junior Varsity Team had their first day of practice on Tuesday, Sept 3rd, while the Junior Novice Team, for new rowers and coxswains, arrived at RCRC the next day for their first ever rowing practice.
Our growing team has 35 returning members and 24 new members. Our coaches anticipate seeing even more new rowers join the team as a result of ED Arthur and AD Holly’s numerous recruiting trips to area high schools and junior high schools this fall.
The Juniors held a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, Oct 5th. 150 people brought their chairs and appetites to support our Juniors with their annual fundraising pancake breakfast. They enjoyed pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon, coffee, and juice while visiting and raised over $1,100 in the process.

Head of the Port Regatta

RCRC hosted another successful Head of the Port on October 13th. Highlights included 160 entries and 550 competitors; RCRC victories in 11 events; calm winds; mild temperatures; and easier parking. It was a great way for many rowers to have their first race of the fall season and some to race for the first time ever. It was also a final opportunity for rowers competing at the Head of the Charles Regatta on the weekend of October 19th to fine-tune their racing plans.
Fundraising
First Annual Rowdiculous
On Aug 17th, about 20 members of the club participated in the wacky event which featured costumes and races on ridiculous floaty devices. In addition to having a lot of fun, the team raised $1,100, more enough for the purchase of new cox box.


West Sacramento All Charities Raffle
The 2019 West Sac Foundation All Charities Raffle is now complete. RCRC sold 807 tickets and has received a check for $6,859! Thank you to everyone who sold or bought tickets to support the purchase of storage containers for the expansion site!
Learn to Row 2019 Programs
Thanks to efforts by ED Arthur, Novice Master’s coach Glenn, and a dedicated group of RCRC member volunteers, RCRC ran five adult Learn to Row classes and one adult Learn to Scull class this summer. Thirty-two of the 76 participants are now new members of our novice masters team! Junior Learn to Row programs saw a 33% increase in participants, thanks to members talking about these classes and getting the word out to local schools. Over 25% of those summer class participants are now part of the Junior Team. And 41 10-13 year olds joined a Beginning middle school rowing classes this season, leading to large Team Session classes this fall. A huge welcome to all of our new rowers!
Coastal Cleanup
On Sept 21st the RCRC Junior Team and many others in the RCRC community pitched in to clean up the Deepwater Ship Channel banks as part of Coastal Cleanup Day and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s 2019 Great Sierra River Cleanup. The junior rowers set out on the water and the shores and found many items that don’t belong in our rivers including a full size refrigerator, a love seat, and chairs. Thanks to all who participated to help keep our beautiful waterway and all Sacramento area waters clean.

RCRC Racing Report: August-September 2019

Petaluma River Marathon and Half Marathon
A substantial contingent of RCRC rowers took on the challenge of racing a half, or even full marathon on the Petaluma River on September 1st.  The event, which is open to all "human-powered water-craft", served as the West Coast flat-water marathon/half marathon championship.   Run like a regular regatta, this event offers age-handicapped entries, in every category - from SUP's to kayaks, to rowing singles through 8's, and almost everything in between.  Highlights included RCRC victories in the half marathon Mixed 8+, Parent-Child 2x, and Women’s flatwater 2x events and a 2nd Place finish in the marathon-length flatwater 2x event.  Kudos to these rowers for tackling such daunting distances!


US Rowing Masters Nationals
In mid-August, RCRC sculler extraordinaire Joel Griffith traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be the sole representative of our club.  As usual, he did so in triumphant fashion, winning not only the Mixed Composite 2x, but also the Men’s Lightweight 1x events in the C, D, and E age categories.

International Dragon Boat Festival
In late September the River City Dragons participated in the 24th annual Kaiser Permanente California International Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Merritt in Oakland, the largest competitive Dragon Boat festival in the United States with teams from around the globe.  In a colorful 40-foot boat, the River City Dragons impressed the 50 boat novice field in their preliminary and semi-final heats. They qualified for, and finished fourth in the grand final of their class, which is quite impressive given their limited opportunities for practice and racing.


San Francisco Coastal Rowing Weekend
The first weekend of October, four RCRC members (Gregg Darrah, Joel Griffith, Ben Rogers, and Travis Mundy) ventured to the Bay Area for a San Francisco tradition: the 20km "Bridge to Bridge" race that runs from Aquatic Park to the Golden Gate Bridge, then to the Bay Bridge and finally back to the starting line in the San Francisco Bay. This race has been run by the South End Rowing Club every fall since 1977. Gregg and Joel took 1st Place in the Men’s 2x Coastal category, while Ben and Travis won the 2x Open Water event.

Coach's Corner Cont'
 Lip Sync contest where they dressed and performed to a mix of 4 songs. The team turned the trip into a ‘rowcation’ where they visited Matanuska Glacier, hitched a ride from sled dogs training for the Iditarod, and took a cruise around the Kenai Peninsula.

After returning home, the women got further inspired by a team viewing of Dare To Be, a documentary on women’s rowing. After competing at our own Head of the Port (placing 1st & 4th in the WM8+, 2nd in the WM4x, 4th in the WM4+ and 6th in the WM1x), the team is quickly headed to Boston to compete in the Senior Women’s Masters 8+ event (ave. age 50+) at the 55th Head of the Charles. As one of the largest regattas in the world, the crew is excited for their next adventure.

RCRC Advanced Masters Womens Team, Big Head 5K Regatta

Calendar of Upcoming Events

Updates posted on the RCRC Facebook pagelistserv, and website
  • Head of the American: Oct 26, Lake Natoma
  • Head of the Lagoon: Nov 9 & 10, Foster City
  • Junior Row-a-Thon Fundraiser: Nov 16 & 17. Email ed@riverityrowing.org to sponsor a Junior athlete!
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River City Rowing Club, Inc.
PO Box 980401
West Sacramento, CA 95798






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River City Rowing Club, Inc. · PO Box 980401 · West Sacramento, CA 95798 · USA