Rowing and Minorities

One day I was talking with a fellow I had met at church. He was the father of three sons, all tall and strong for their ages. I mentioned to him that both my kids were involved in rowing, that it was a great sport, and perhaps he should consider looking into having his own sons participate. I wasn’t prepared for the reaction I received.

“Rowing??? You mean paddling about in those boats??? That’s a WHITE MAN’s sport!!!” he laughed. He went on to explain that all his boys were working hard to be basketball players, and they were hoping to be able to play basketball in college.

Now, I could have explained to him that the sports were not exclusive, that his sons could have rowed in the fall, spring, or summer and still played basketball in school, and that the cross-training would help them in both sports. But I didn’t even try, because he was clearly convinced that he wanted nothing to do with a sport which he considered to be the exclusive province of “white preppies”.

The reason why this surprised me so much was because (a) I didn’t even think about him or his sons being African-American before bringing up the subject, and (b) our own rowing club couldn’t have cared less about race, and always made a point of making sure everybody who wanted to row could find a way to do so regardless of financial circumstances.

But at the next practice I looked around, and noticed that even in our “blue-collar” rowing club, everybody was either Caucasian or Asian, with a strong preponderance towards “Nordic” last names and features. I guess is natural enough, in that the area was originally settled by a large number of immigrants from Sweden and Norway. But given the large degree of racial diversity which currently exists in the area, why didn’t we have an even larger Asian continent in the club, as well as at least a few Hispanics, Samoans, and African Americans?

Since I first came to that realization, we have had a couple of African-American families join the club, but I think we can do a lot better. Since rowing is a great way to teach essential career skills (hard work, self-discipline, and teamwork), and since it is a great pathway to a college education, we need to make sure that it is available to everybody. Besides, what better way for students break down barriers between the races than by making them boat mates?

In the meantime, most rowing clubs are constantly trying to maintain or increase membership, usually using traditional word-of-mouth campaigns. But word-of-mouth tends to result in everybody continuing to look pretty much the same, coming from the same neighborhoods. If we are going to reach out to the minority communities, we need to adopt different strategies. And it might involve quite a bit more effort, in different directions, than the rowing club has experienced in the past.

First of all, the rowing club needs to let minorities know that they are welcome. If your club already has some minority members, are they included in the picture galleries on your website? You might even want to put a statement on the website to the effect that your club welcomes rowers of all races and backgrounds, and you might want to mention that programs are available for those who could not otherwise afford the fees. If you don’t have such a program, you might want to consider establishing one.

Secondly, you might need to make a positive effort to get minorities involved. Many minorities might not have the slightest concept of the sport of rowing, not having had any friends or family involved in it in the past. Contact the local YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, or Parks Department and see about setting up a “partnership” with them. Offer to provide rowing as an adjunct of their programs, and they can let you use their resources to advertise the benefits of rowing to their audiences.

You might also want to send representatives to speak to high-school coaches, to pitch rowing as an “off-season” sport which will keep their athletes in shape until next year. Any school function would be potential recruiting tool, both for minorities and otherwise, including school fairs, PTSA meetings, school fundraisers, etc.

Keep in mind that transportation may be an issue for potential minority students. They may live in neighborhoods which are further from the boathouse than your existing rowers, and you might need to use some imagination to come up with a good plan for getting those junior rowers to and from practice.

Whenever possible, when speaking to parents of potential junior rowers, be sure to mention how rowing helps students get into college, including potential scholarships. That provides a strong motivating factor for the parents to expend the time and effort required to get the kids to practice, even if they are unaware of the other benefits rowing provides. They can learn about those other benefits as they become more involved in the programs.

Your club might want to check out the George Pocock Rowing Foundation's Outreach Program, which works to make rowing available to those who couldn't otherwise afford it, including homeless youth.
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