1. What is the Fairfax High School Crew Club?
2. Can I letter in crew?
3. I have never rowed before. Can I still do crew?
4. Is there a body height or size requirement for rowing?
5. What is required to be a crew club member and are there tryouts? 
6. Is there any special equipment or rowing gear required of rowers?
7. How big is the team? 
8. How do I join the team? 
9. What is the schedule for crew and when does the season start? 
10. Were does the team practice? 
11. What does it cost to join the crew club and row? 
12. Why do rowers have to pay dues and fees?

1. What is the Fairfax High School Crew Club?
The Fairfax High School (FHS) Crew Club is a Virginia High School League (VHSL) sponsored interscholastic club activity.   Club sports do not receive financial aid from the school or the county. The Fairfax Crew Boosters promote and support the rowing program at Fairfax.  To qualify as an official interscholastic sport, the athletic activity must be VHSL sponsored and have participation of greater than fifty per cent of the high schools in the county.  However, even if more than half the county's high schools were to offer crew, the club status would likely not change due to the costs and the limited facilities available for the sport.  To learn more about rowing, please read the FHS Crew Rowing Basics. 



2. Can I letter in crew?
Yes. Varsity letters are awarded for the Spring Competition at the end of the school year.  You earn a letter if you have rowed in 3 varsity regattas.  



3. I have never rowed before. Can I still do crew?
Most students who join the team have no previous rowing experience.  If you are willing to work hard, then Fairfax Crew is for you. The crew program provides opportunities for a wide range of athletic abilities and can help a non-athlete become highly trained and competitive over four years of high school participation. 

4. Is there a body height or size requirement for rowing?
No. Rowing is a very serious sport and takes a lot of dedication.  You do need strength, endurance and technique, all of which you will develop through the Crew Program.  Each boat has four or eight rowers and the coxswain.  The coxswain steers the boat and gives instructions to the crew. During a race, the coxswain is also a motivator and tactician. For rowers, height is an advantage, but not a prerequisite. Coxswain are usually small and light. The best coxswains are smart, light, verbal and confident.



5. What is required to be a crew club member and are there tryouts?
Fairfax Crew accepts all students. No previous athletic, rowing experience or tryouts are necessary. There are no tryouts to become a member of the crew club; however:

• all new team members are required to pass a swim test to show they can tread water for 2 minutes and swim 100 meters--life vests are not worn in the shells.
• rowers must complete a paperwork packet and a physical prior to being allowed to row. If you have not turned in a completed physical form for another sport during the school year, please make an appointment with your doctor to schedule one an exam; turn in the form to the FHS athletic department.
• Rowers are also required to maintain academic eligibility under the Virginia High School League rule and be responsible for dues and volunteer support.

6. Is there any special equipment or rowing gear required of rowers?
The FHS Booster club supplies most of the needed equipment.  The crew team members are responsible for their personal clothing including the racing uniforms, which are ordered through the clothing coordinator prior to the spring rowing season. For practices and warm-ups, rowers are recommended to have running shoes, comfortable but not loose pants or shorts, polypropylene undershirt, fleece hat, wool socks and a fleece jacket plus the usual tee shirts and sweats. Rowers may purchase optional team jackets, sweats, rain wear, gear bags, caps and more from our team clothing coordinator.

7. How big is the team?
The team, including boys and girls, rowers and coxwains, averages 50 members.



8. How do I join the team? 
There are many ways to join the team:

• Contact our Membership Chairperson (Amanda Michanczyk, , until this position is filled)
• Attend one of our information and registration meetings; we have one in the fall and one in the winter

9. What is the schedule for crew and when does the season start? 
Crew is a spring sport.  Land training begins on January 13, with water practice starting on the Occoquan, at Sandy Run Park, on February 24 (experienced rowers) and March 3 (novice rowers). Practice is after school, five days a week, depending on the weather. Rowing competitions (regattas) begin in March; see season's schedule. The regattas are held on Saturdays, and most of Fairfax competitions are at the Occoquan. The season culminates in May with select competitive boats entering the prestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia and the Scholastic Rowing Association National Championships held at different locales each year.

10. Where does the team practice? 
During the off-season (Nov - Feb) team members condition at the high school doing land training; in the winter, voluntary workouts take place at the weight room in school three days a week. Winter training is an unofficial part of crew. Winter training is not required but is highly recommended for anyone who is not doing a winter sport. It isto all students, not just rowers. Workouts consist of weight work, running and "erging." During spring sport season, we practice after school each day at Sandy Run Park on the Occoquan River.  The Sandy Run boathouse is about a 25-minute drive from Fairfax High.



11. What does it cost to join the crew club and row? 
The membership system in Crew is comprised of dues and volunteer work. The annual rowing fee is $525 (2003 season) per rower.  A rower pays a portion of the rower fee ($50) with the application form and the remainder (by January 15) before water training begins. Uniforms are additional; a portion of the cost will be subsidized by the team this year (2003). Rowers may purchase optional team jackets, sweats, rain wear, gear bags, caps and more from our team clothing coordinator.

Service is required of both the rower and their family, as volunteers are integral to the program and without them there could be no rowing team. We are a volunteer organization and ask that each family get involved and join our the FHS Crew Boosters. We need everyone to do their share of fundraising, work on maintaining the shells, help organize and chaperone events and trips, help with the administrative tasks, or assist with regattas.  In order to compete in the regattas, all schools are required to provide their prorated share of the volunteers that set up and run the local regattas. The regatta jobs include driving launches during the regattas, working the concession stands, directing traffic, etc.

We will make all efforts not to exclude any rower due to financial need. Contact the Booster President for details.



12. Why do rowers have to pay dues and fees? 
Most of the expense of crew is attributable to the equipment and maintenance costs.  An 8-person shell (boat) costs between $20,000 and $30,000.  Oars cost over $250 apiece, Ergs over $400, a voice amplification system (“Cox Box”) for the coxswain is $500, and we also use small boats with outboard motors to follow the shells during coaching and races.  All of the equipment requires maintenance and ultimately needs to be replaced.  There are also fees for boat storage, insurance, equipment maintenance fees, coaches' salaries and administrative expenses.  The rowers' dues cover some of the costs, primarily our administrative, insurance and maintenance costs.  The rest of the funds needed to run the program must be raised by the rowers and the boosters club in a series of fundraising events. Our fundraisers include car washes, canvassing for donations, and signing up corporate or individual sponsors. Fundraising is a necessity but it's easier than you think.


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