Rowers Recognized for Athletics and Academics

Two Scarsdale seniors are team members of the Pelham Community Rowing Association which has qualified as a scholar-athlete team for the ninth consecutive year by the New York State Scholastic Rowing Association. In order to meet this standard, rowers must be in grades 10-12 and maintain a GPA of 90% or better for the season. PCRA has proudly held this distinction since the commendation was begun in 2009.

Scarsdale seniors Paige Mittenthal and Melanie Norman have been rowing with the team since their freshman year. It is a tremendous time commitment as the team practices in three seasons and rowing meets are all day affairs on the weekends and sometimes span both Saturday and Sunday. Though the girls travel to Pelham to participate, Scarsdale High School recognizes crew as a varsity sport during the spring season.

Do rowers have to meet weight requirements to participate? According to the Paige and Melanie, "The lightweight program has a weight maximum: a lightweight female rower should not exceed 130 lbs. during spring season and 135 lbs. during winter and fall season. Though the team rows through the winter, the rowers sometimes have to train on land "when the wind speed is too high." According to Mittenthal and Norman, they train indoors; with ".....practice on the ergometers which stimulate the motion of a stroke on the water. We also lift weights and work on cardio machines." But, do they get enough sleep? Both answered with an emphatic "no!."

We also asked for differences between male and female rowers and here is what they shared: "Women are motivated differently than the men. The men's team values power whereas the women value precision."

What have been the highlights of the year? The girls answered, "We have yet to start spring racing but based on winter training, highlights have been the Ergathon, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and Crash-Bs. For those of us who don't know the lingo, here's an explanation. The Ergathon is PCRA's biggest fundraiser that is run by kids so that they can contribute to the team. Their goal this year is to raise $60,000 to buy the team a new trailer to transport the boats to regattas. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was an indoor rowing event held at Pelham Middle School in February, which was used as a qualifier for C.R.A.S.H.-B's which is the world's largest indoor rowing championship

The girls agree that they "love the sense of camaraderie, competition and spirit which are all fostered by this dynamic sport." Melanie Norman will row for the Boston University lightweight team in the fall, while Paige, who is currently the team captain, may row on the University of Michigan's club team.

"We are extremely proud of our team's commitment to both books and boats," commented Paisley Kelling, PCRA's Board President. "We try to remind our rowers that the word 'scholar' comes first in the term 'scholar-athlete' for a reason, and that this emphasis will continue throughout their collegiate experiences." "There are many ways to help one's team win, and only some of them occur on the water," added Program Director and Head Coach, Guy Monseair.