Newburgh,
NY – on January 8, 2014, the Newburgh Rowing Club’s scholarship-based inclusion
rowing program, the “Student Ambassador Program,” officially became a USRowing
America Rows Affiliate program, said Juliana LoBiondo, Team Mom for the
Newburgh Rowing Club and Director of the Student Ambassador Program, which will
now be known as “America Rows Newburgh.”
“America
Rows”, was launched by USRowing in 2010.
USRowing is the national governing
body for the sport of rowing in
the United States, serving to promote
the sport on all levels of competition, including the selection and training of
those who represent the United States at the international level.
“ ‘America Rows’ is a nationwide diversity and
inclusion initiative, aimed at increasing awareness of rowing and
introducing the sport to a diverse group of Americans. ‘America Rows’
provides support, both organizationally and financially, to existing and
planned programs across the country,” said Richard Butler, USRowing Inclusion
Manager.
“We are delighted to receive this recognition and
support from America Rows,” said Coach Ed Kennedy, Programs Director of the
Newburgh Rowing Club. “We having been
working to make Newburgh Rowing as inclusive as possible since its inception 22
years ago. To have this affiliation with
USRowing’s ‘America Rows’ program is just tremendous.”
“This affiliation with America Rows is nothing
short of a dream come true,” said Team Mom LoBiondo. “The Student Ambassador Program has been made
possible by continued grants from the Hudson River Improvement Fund. Through the receipt of grants, we have been
able to offer membership in the Newburgh Rowing Club, and participation in training
and competitions, free of charge to our Student Ambassadors.”
One of the things that makes the America Rows Newburgh program unique is the fact that the program gets kids in the Pool and teaches water confidence, said LoBiondo.
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“We
basically now have the support of the national governing body of rowing for our
kids,” said LoBiondo. “This means
financial support, such as waiver of fees for USRowing membership and national
meet entry fees for our Student Ambassadors.
We also can say we are part of a national organization, and a community
of inclusion. In the bigger picture, we
now have boundless opportunities for our Student Ambassadors. For instance, there will be an America Rows Regatta
in this spring, which America Rows Newburgh has been invited to. Our Student Ambassadors will be able to
compete in this Regatta and, instead of being the only Mexican-American rowers,
or the only African-American rowers, we will be surrounded by a completely
diverse group of youth rowers. I have
been through so much with these kids over the past 3 years, it is
unimaginable. This is an incredible
culmination of three years of hard work, and we are only going to build on it
from here. Look for America Rows
Newburgh rowers to make some special headlines in the years to come.”
“Boathouses
across America continue to be affluent, upper middle class and white,” said Mr.
Butler. “If we want the United States to
be more competitive on the world stage, we are going to need to do what many
major American corporations figured out 20 years ago – become more diverse and
inclusive. We welcome America
Rows Newburgh to the program.”
For more information about America Rows Newburgh,
contact Coach Ed Kennedy at (845) 541-2313 or America Rows Newburgh Director
Juliana LoBiondo at newburghrows@gmail.com.
