Fox Chapel Area High School Competes in
Indoor Rowing by Kathy Rudolph
A
ccording to the U.S. Rowing Association, rowers have been referred to as some of the fittest athletes in the world because the sport involves all major joints and muscles in the body. It is also ideal for Fox Chapel Area High School athletes who want to stay in shape for the entire school year with the season starting in the fall, conditioning in the winter, and the season returning in the spring. In preparation for the spring season, indoor competitions using rowing machines known as ergometers which measure the amount of energy that the rower is generating. Then, in the spring when the main season starts, the rowers may compete in “fours,” boats that hold five people, “eights,” boats that hold nine people, or double or single boats. Practice is held on the Allegheny River at the Millvale boathouse of Three Rivers Rowing Association. The 2012 North Allegheny (NA) High School Rowing Championships was just one of the indoor rowing competitions in which the Fox Chapel Crew competed and was held at Marshall Middle School in Marshall Township. Besides Fox Chapel and NA, high school competitors included Allderdice, Hampton, North Catholic, Pine-Richland, Pittsburgh
“You see, it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about competition with yourself - going out there to do your very best, to give it your all, to have nothing left. It’s about supporting your teammates, pulling for them when you have all but lost faith in yourself. Crew is a sport that demands all of these things. It is not a sport of fame; it is not a sport of popularity. Rowing is above all that. Rowing is a sport of purity and strength, constantly made better by you and I.” – ANONYMOUS 54 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE
Fox Chapel Area
Rowing Club, Shady Side Academy, Shaler, Three Rivers Rowing Association, Upper St. Clair and Winchester Thurston. The boys and girls both placed third in the race and the team placed second in combined results in the race. Chelsea Dzubak is the Fox Chapel Crew men’s head coach and talked about the benefits of joining crew. “Two years ago the men’s varsity rowers made it to Youth Nationals, which you have to be top in your region to attend,” said Ms. Dzubak. “We were top for the men’s light weight eight which is our big boat. If you attend this you compete against clubs and high schools all over the country and if you get first place you get to go to the Scholastic Nationals, where you also compete against all the high school teams in the country. We went to this two years in a row with only having 15 members, which means half of your team is competing and that is great. We need more kids to join to stay competitive.” Her husband, Craig Dzubak, is the men’s conditioning coach. “I’ve played all sports: football, hockey…and rowing is the most challenging,” said Mr. Dzubak. “It is a great team sport.” Fox Chapel Crew is a club sport associated with Fox Chapel Area High School. If you are a student who is interested in joining, or to find out more about rowing, visit the crew’s website at www.foxchapelcrew.org.