Men’s and Women’s Rowing impress USRowing as national convention host site

USRowing, the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States, hosts an annual convention in a different city every year, and in December, hundreds of coaches from all across the nation were in Jacksonville.

When an equipment issue forced the hosts to find another facility, they didn’t have to look any further than the Negaard Rowing Center.

“It was special and important for us to contribute and be involved in the progress of our sport at the national level,” said Jacksonville University Director of Rowing Jim Mitchell. “I am glad we could represent our university and our city in such a positive light. At JU, we are not only passionate about rowing at Jacksonville University, but passionate about the sport as a whole.”

JU’s men’s and women’s rowing staff hosted the US Rowing Level 2 Rowing Coach certification clinic. In the clinic, more than 25 rowing coaches, ranging from the high school to the Olympic level, used JU’s ergs for demonstrations and its boats for teaching boat rigging skills.

The Dolphins also hosted a Paralympic rowing training clinic sponsored by the USOC and USRowing, in which more than 40 attendees learned how to startup, operate and/or optimize adaptive rowing programs in the United States.

“We are very grateful JU was able to offer us the space,” said Tom Darling, the High Performance Director of Para-Rowing for USRowing. “Jim Mitchell was very accommodating. The boat house was a perfect location for our adaptive rowing meeting. The erg room was perfect, and the boats were excellent for what we were showing.”

“We made an amazing impression on our national organization and coaches from all over the country … not only because of our amazing facility, but because of our graciousness,” said Mitchell.

Click here for more information about JU Men’s Rowing, and here for more about JU Women’s Rowing.