City Island Rowing

Since 2014, City Island Rowing (CIR) has been a place where committed, passionate athletes set big goals and then do whatever it takes to reach them. Our three teams—Novice, Junior Varsity and Varsity— train hard year-round to be competition-ready both physically and mentally, regionally and nationally. Blistered hands and aching legs earn kind sympathy but no other special consideration among athletes here. 

We train with a rare, thoughtfully balanced mix of skill-building, strategy, and heart at CIR, but also with expensive equipment. A lot of equipment, in fact. That’s why we hold our Annual Ergathon every spring. (Quick primer in case you need: ‘Erg' is short for Ergometer, which is a machine that simulates the rowing stroke. An Erg also measures the physical work an athlete is doing, which yields critical data both for comparing performance and guiding development. Coaches and rowers use what are called 'Erg scores' to meaningfully track an athlete’s effort and potential, and Erg scores are also a key consideration for college coaches during recruitment.) The Ergathon is CIR’s only annual fundraiser, so we go all in and hope you will, too. On the big day, our Varsity athletes Erg for 90 minutes, our JV and Novices for 60. It’s grueling, but also great fun—think adrenaline, loud cheering and lots of high-fives, for starters.

Every Ergathon donation goes straight into the CIR capital fund to buy durable assets for the club. Rowing equipment, often made from space-age, high modulus carbon fiber, is notoriously expensive. A boat can cost over $45,000, and oars run $400-$500 apiece. Each Erg costs $1000. That said, high-caliber equipment of this nature does last a long time when properly maintained—meaning your support today won’t just help train the current team, but a generation of athletes to come. Funds from the 2022 Ergathon will go toward our final payment for our gorgeous Resolute 4+, balance payment for our amazing new trailer, refurbishment of our fluid design 2x racing shell, a new set of 8 sweep oars, a new set of quad sculling oars, cox box and wiring for a number of shells, new shoes for several boats and other upgrades. Funds raised over $45,000 will go to our 'Build a Boathouse" fund.

YOU can help by sponsoring one of our athletes. Each CIR team member sets a personal fundraising goal and appeals to family and friends for donations. Athletes who raise at least $1000 earn the right to have their name featured in one of our boats for posterity. (Talk about incentive!) Last year our athletes raised $76,000! Can you help them beat that figure this year? We hope the answer is YES! To support an individual athlete, just click on THE TEAM and search by name.

Please note that City Island Rowing is an IRS-recognized 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and 100% of your donation is fully tax-deductible as allowed by law.