Which do you think is preppier, rowing or squash? I’ve never seriously participated in either sport, but I grew up in Connecticut, so I had plenty of friends who did. Both sports have reputations for being easier ways for privileged kids to get into college. It makes sense. Access to rowing shells and squash courts is expensive, so most people never get exposed to either sport. That means the few who do participate in squash and rowing have a lot less competition when getting recruited for spots on college teams. We’ve seen non-profit organizations like StreetSquash, Surf City Squash, and SquashBusters open up squash to a new crowd and use it to promote academic achievement. Today I learned about an organization that is doing something similar for rowing. They’re called Row New York, and they’re based in New York, NY. They aim “to empower young people from New York City’s under-resourced communities to pursue excellence in all facets of their lives, through a unique combination of competitive rowing and individualized academic support.” It’s an awesome idea, and it’s already making a serious impact.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row New York now serves 300 participants every year after starting in 2002 with 8 rowers and a borrowed boat. 100% of Row New York’s graduates have gone on to college, and many of their students have received college scholarships. I’m super impressed. If you want to keep learning about Row New York, there’s plenty of content on their website. Their FAQs probably go into the most depth about the program and all of its details (it’s targeted towards rowers). If you have a background in rowing and a passion for promoting academic achievement, you’ll want to check out Row New York’s job opportunities on Idealist. They’re a small organization, and they don’t appear to have any full-time opportunities, but they are looking for Reaching Coaches. They list the position as an internship, but it’s paid despite its being only part-time. I figure it could have the potential to turn into something more permanent.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• RowNewYork.org
• Jobs at Row New York (Idealist)
• About Row New York
• Row New York’s History
• Row New York’s Staff
• Row New York’s FAQ
• Row New York News
• Row New York’s Blog

Have you ever rowed?

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