Diversity in Rowing
To most of the Branksome community, the rowing team resembles an urban legend more closely than any other BH team or club. Who is that mysterious coach who looks like an Alive Outdoors staff member and hides in the AWC basement? How do they row when the lake is frozen in January? Why do they have to wake up at 4 am, and can they please stop talking about it?
Rowing as a sport is largely misunderstood, and we recognize that many students would prefer not to understand. However, we thought it important to share some of what we’ve experienced and researched about the exclusive nature of the sport. Rowing is slowly transforming from a historically white and elitist sport to one that provides opportunities to those who would not have previously had access.
Rowing has typically been reserved for those from the highest socio-economic classes due to the steep cost of club membership fees, travel, formal training, and upscale equipment and facilities. Other sports like soccer only require a ball (running shoes, too, if you really feel like it), so you can imagine how a sport that requires a 60-foot boat, costing upwards of $40,000 would create significant financial barriers. Only 650 high school-aged teams and clubs are members of rowing’s governing body, US Rowing. This starkly contrasts the over 18,000 U.S. high school basketball teams. As a niche and exclusive sport, its community lacks economic and racial diversity. Throughout our time as rowers of colour, we have noticed firsthand the underrepresentation of POCs. Our individual experiences as racial minorities reflect the composition of the broader rowing community, with NCAA data showing almost three-quarters of female rowers are white, while just 2 percent are black. This is likely because crew is harder to find at public high schools with more socio-economically diverse student bodies than well-funded private schools composed of people from upper-middle-class communities. Our experience travelling to regattas and training camps in Canada and the U.S., where there is an overwhelming proportion of white coaches, athletes, and officials, inspired us to seek out the various organizations and individuals making a conscious effort to increase the accessibility of the sport.
Instagram community @RowingInColor, @theblackcoxswain and @blackgirlsrow
Social media has become an efficient and easy way to connect, grow and empower the rowing community. Instagram accounts like @RowingInColour, @theblackcoxswain and @blackgirlsrow are opportunities to spotlight the achievements and experiences of athletes of colour within the rowing community. While Rowing in Colour began as a podcast, it has expanded its reach through Instagram posts and newsletters, amplifying the successes of athletes of colour. These platforms highlight stories of breaking records, winning races, and overcoming challenges. By doing so, they promote diversity and representation by inspiring and empowering POC athletes. Social media has served as a place for the rowing community to unite and share voices, allowing stories about minority athletes to be acknowledged and ultimately promote inclusivity.
Ash Pryor
Ash Pryor has made a bold name for herself as she rose from a Division I champion rower to a rowing instructor for Peloton. Forbes claimed she has “Rowed her way to the top of the fitness industry.” Ash has worked to bring rowing to marginalized communities by founding The Relentless Rowing Academy, a rowing club in Ohio that aims to bring the sport to marginalized communities. Like many other rowers of colour, Ash claims she “never saw anyone who looked like me’’ when breaking into the sport. Ash has been a powerful role model, inspiring athletes of colour not to be dissuaded from joining predominantly white teams.
A Most Beautiful Thing and Arshay Cooper
The story of the creation and success of the first African American high school rowing team would not only be documented as a book but as a film. A Most Beautiful Thing is the story of coach Arshay Cooper’s leadership and ability to increase diversity in rowing. In the late 1990s, Cooper’s leadership didn’t just lead nine rowers to victory; it sparked a ripple effect of change and empowerment. This success would prove to the world the greatness of opening exclusive circles to diversity.
US Rowing
US Rowing has begun working with organizations and individuals based in cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and New York, to invest time and resources into working with community members and local organizations that youth who are hesitant to pursue rowing can identify with. According to responses from a US Rowing survey, while 95% of BIPOC rowers enjoy rowing, 25% do not feel they belong on their team. Alarmingly, 66% of these rowers have “experienced race-based challenges and do not openly show up with their full identity and culture.” To combat this, a program called United We Row was created and will dedicate $1 million over the next four years to fund existing programs, support athletes in training and launch new programs for engaging potential athletes from different backgrounds and classes. This past December, US Rowing also screened the new film, “The Boys In The Boat,” for young people of colour in various American cities, intending to inspire them to get involved in rowing. The film demonstrates how rowing is a sport that teaches valuable life lessons, opens doors to unique opportunities, and provides one with a support network that resembles a family.
Head of the Charles Regatta & The Gold Cup
In November of 2021, the Head of the Charles Regatta organization in Boston and the Gold Cup in Philadelphia announced that a grant of $100,000 would be distributed among seven programs committed to diversity and inclusion that serve underrepresented youth and communities. The Grants Foundation acknowledged the pressing need for “programs that [offer] competitive racing experience to young people of colour to develop them as athletes and stewards in their community.” These programs reach young athletes by partnering with other nonprofits and organizations to amplify their local impact.
Investing time and money into engaging people from different races, ethnicities, and classes will expand and diversify the perspectives of the rowing community, making it collectively stronger. As girls passionate about our sport, we hope that more people will have the chance to reap the rewards of rowing. By supporting the efforts of these incredible individuals and organizations, we can help create a community where rowers see themselves reflected in all facets of the sport. Rowing should no longer be accessible only to the privileged, and we must continue building on efforts that will eliminate the exclusionary environment that has defined the rowing community for far too long.