No. Most of our athletes had never rowed before CBC. New rowers can start in any season. They learn the basics one step at a time, on the Development Team or, when the coaches place her there, on the Novice squad of the Racing Team.

Beginners and national champions train in the same boathouse. Most new athletes start on the Development Team, and girls move up to the Racing Team as they grow. CBC also has a strong racing record, with 13 USRowing national championships since 2010. Our alumnae have rowed at 70+ college programs, and one of them, Kelsey Reelick, went on to row at the Paris Olympics.

She’s welcome to come try a practice for free before registering. Email info@ctboatclub.org and we’ll set up her first day.

CBC rows grades 6 through 12. Most athletes on the Racing Team are in high school, and some are in 8th grade. Beginners have ranged from 6th grade to 12th, depending on the athlete and where she’s starting from. If you’re not sure where your daughter fits, ask us.

The Development Team is for anyone learning to row who doesn’t yet have the fitness, or the time, for the Racing Team. It practices fewer days and focuses on skills.

The Racing Team is one team with two squads, Novice and Varsity, who practice together. A novice races Novice for her first year and can also race Varsity. Some beginners start on Novice, by evaluation.

The coaches evaluate each new athlete and place her on the team that fits, and girls can move between the teams as they grow.

Usually, yes. The Development Team adds new girls as the season goes on. Joining the Racing Team mid-season is by evaluation. Email info@ctboatclub.org and a coach will talk it through with you.

No. Height can help, because a taller rower has a longer stroke, but the sport is full of successful rowers who aren’t especially tall.

Fall and spring: the Racing Team practices 3:30 to 6:30 PM, and the Development Team 4:15 to 6:15 PM.

Winter: the Racing Team trains 3:45 to 5:45 PM, and the Development Team 4:30 to 6:00 PM.

Summer: mornings, 9 AM to noon for Learn to Row and 7 to 10 AM for experienced rowers. The last two weeks of June meet in the afternoon, at spring practice times.

Practice includes time to stretch and to carry the boats and oars on and off the water. Each season’s page has its schedule.

No. Many of our rowers row fall, winter and spring, and many also row in the summer, but some play another sport for a season. Summer is open to girls who don’t row with CBC the rest of the year, and summer camp can be booked by the week.

Yes, and lots of our girls do. Rowing is full-body, low-impact cross-training that builds the engine every other sport runs on, so it’s a great fit for soccer players, swimmers, lacrosse players, runners and more. Our schedules are flexible: if she can only make one or two days a week while another sport is in season, email us and we’ll work it out.

Yes. Rowing in bad weather (within reason) builds character, and rain often makes the water calmer. Athletes need to dress for it: a waterproof shell, close-fitting athletic layers. We don’t row in high winds or lightning; on those days the team trains on the rowing machines (“ergs”).

Running shoes, close-fitting athletic clothes, a water bottle, a hat and sunscreen. Layers in the fall and spring.

The eight-person and four-person boats almost never tip, and ours never have. The one- and two-person boats can, and occasionally do. That’s why:

• every CBC rower must be a competent swimmer, able to tread water for at least seven minutes;
• our coaches follow in motor boats (“launches”) and stay within sight of the rowers at all times;
• beginners rarely practice in one- and two-person boats.

On race day, the coxswain steers the boat, guides the rowers through their race plan and tells them where they are against the other boats (their eyes stay on the rower in front of them). In practice, she steers and runs the day’s workout for the coach. And no, she doesn’t yell “Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!”

There’s no height requirement, but a light coxswain is an advantage. At Youth Nationals the minimum is 110 pounds, and a coxswain who weighs less carries extra weight to make it up.

Regattas usually last all day, and in the spring they often run two or three days. The athletes travel together in vans. Parents watch from the CBC tent, where volunteers set up the day before and cook breakfast, lunch and snacks for the rowers and their families. It’s an extended-family effort, and CBC parents are known for the best food at the regatta.

23 Platt Street, Norwalk, on the Norwalk River.

Each season has its own registration form, linked from the Registration page. For fees, email Sally Saunders at sally@ctboatclub.org. Questions about which team or season? Email info@ctboatclub.org.