Recently, Padua Academy has teamed up with Newport Rowing Club to add crew to their long list of offered sports. The team has continually been growing, as knowledge of the sport continues to spread. The girls of Padua Crew have learned that there is much more to crew than just rowing. The crew team goes to races called regattas, and boats can hold one, two, four, or eight people. The double and single boats use a rowing technique, called sculling, and row with two smaller ten foot oars. Larger boats that hold four and eight people use a technique called sweep rowing, and use twelve foot oars. The biggest and fastest boats tend to be the eight seaters, which are nearly sixty feet long and weigh up to two hundred and forty pounds. In addition to the eight people rowing, the eight seaters include a coxswain, who doesn’t row but is extremely important in steering the boat and giving commands, acting almost as an on-board coach.
Here at Padua, the students are offered the option of being on the recreational team for fun, or the competitive team which takes the sport more seriously. The recreational team practices three times a week and only have one competition throughout the season. The competitive team, on the other hand, practices five days a week for two and a half hours at a time and travel to five or six regattas during their spring season. Although there are no cuts for this sport, crew requires strength, skill, and focus. Practices include a lot of water and strength training, and carrying boats is strenuous exercise in and of itself. The Newport Rowing Club is only a year old. However, it has been growing rapidly; in the past year, the club has already established a recreational team, novice and varsity boys’ teams, and novice and varsity girls’ teams.
Jessica Kibblehouse, ‘12, is one of Padua’s biggest crew stars. Jess first got involved in crew last spring, when Padua offered the sport for the first time. When it came time to sign up for spring sports she tried crew on a whim and ended up loving it. Jess says it is “a great alternative to Padua’s other spring sports, and its less intimidating because there are no cuts.” Jess spoke very highly of the people involved, and said everyone was very welcoming. When asked about how rowing crew has affected her personally, Jess said, “It’s hard work while you’re rowing but you feel strong and accomplished and afterwards. Crew is very rewarding, and it makes you mentally and physically stronger. all in all, it’s difficult but fun.” Jess spoke of crew as an exciting sport because during the races, “breaks are rare, and every second counts.” She also says crew is good for relieving “little day to day angers that come from high school stress and frustration.” Jess plans to continue on with crew in college at Temple University. This is not surprising because crew scholarships are very accessible to those involved in the sport, and people from Newport have gotten scholarships to universities in Texas, Delaware, and Ohio.
A few weeks ago, Jess and another one of Padua’s very own, Elsa Palmisano, ‘13, traveled for a regatta with Newport Rowing Club, which they stayed involved with even after Padua’s season ended. The team traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, for a regatta called “Head of the Charles.” This is the largest crew regatta in the United States. Jess and Elsa arrived on a Friday morning and stayed all weekend. The team practiced all day on Friday, had fun with other spectators on Saturday, and competed in their three mile race on Sunday. There were many different divisions at this regatta, and all ages were represented, sharing their love for crew. Teams traveled from all over the United States and even Canada, to show their talent and passion for crew. Jess and Elsa, along with their team, practiced very long and hard for this regatta, and seemed happy with the results. Both girls are thankful for the Padua rowing team during the spring season, and are very happy they decided to stay with Newport year round. Jess said that she encourages other Padua girls to become involved with crew so they can grow from it as much as she has.