One Team. Dedicated.
All athletes, coaches and parents support each other. We treat each other fairly and cultivate an environment of mutual respect. We strive to improve teamwork, leadership and rowing skills and healthy development of all athletes. We count on our whole community of students, parents and coaches to be responsible and respectful of each other and the rowing community we are part of.
B-CC Crew celebrated 30 years as a team in 2023, making it one of the longest running high school programs in the area--and also one of the most successful. The highly competitive team is highly inclusive and open to all students. No experience is necessary, and financial aid is available for athletes who need it. The B-CC rowing program fosters a strong sense of community and belonging, earned trust and respect among athletes and coaches, and a wide community of parents and alumni who help ensure the day-to-day needs of the program as well as its continued successful future.
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B-CC Crew is one of the most competitive rowing programs in the region and is finding increasing success and visibility at the national level, at races like the Stotesbury Regatta and SRAAs where the past six years have seen strong showings on the medals dock. Regionally we compete as a member of the WMIRA rowing league of schools in the the metropolitan Washington, DC area. We have a history of success in our league and at the Stotesbury and SRAA scholastic regattas. It is typical for us to have numerous male and female athletes, boats, and coaches honored by the Washington Post as "All-Met" and several athletes continue to compete at the collegiate and national team level.
Rowing for B-CC
Rowing is one of the very few sports where experience prior to high school is not necessary. All first-year athletes on our team join as novices with a dedicated to coach to teach them to row and compete. After completing the novice year, athletes advance to the varsity squads. The boys and girls programs each have a head coach and an assistant coach. Financial assistance is available for those who need it.
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Coaches and Equipment
The team employs 6 to 8 coaches during the fall, winter, and spring seasons depending on the size of our rosters. Many have coached at the collegiate level, and all rowed or coxed in college. The team owns a fleet of more than 10 racing shells, and which are replaced as regularly as feasible to ensure our athletes are racing in the fastest possible equipment. Rower safety is paramount, and no athlete is on the water without accompaniment by a coach-staffed motor launch. Equipment for the program is expensive. New boats cost $50-60k, and athletes are trained to handle them with care at all times.
Club Sport Status
Despite its popularity at B-CC, rowing in the Montgomery County Public School system is a “club sport,” meaning that the team receives no financial support or other assistance from the school or the county. To receive financial support from MCPS, a sport must have the participation of two-thirds of the high schools in the county. Currently, 5 public high schools (out of 25) in Montgomery County have rowing teams: B-CC, Walt Whitman, Walter Johnson, Montgomery Blair, and Winston Churchill.
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Seasons
Competitions with multiple boats are called regattas and take place in the spring. These races are head-to-head and are 1,500 meters in length. The races at fall regattas are 5,000 meters) and are called head races, where each boat is rowing against the clock. Boats are sent out in 15 to 20 second intervals. During winter we train on rowing machines, called ergometers ( or "ergs"), in Bethesda.
