Settle down and lean it back for a power ten, as the EBRC will always provide you with the latest news in rowing, from stroke to bow…
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The noble JLAC, a hub of activity each and every morning.
The East Bay Rowing Club was formed in March of 2011 from the ashes of the Jack London Aquatic Center (JLAC) masters rowing program.
Masters rowing at Jack London begin in the fall of 2007 when 10 women arrived at Boat Bay 1 to learn how to row under the guidance of Coach Peggy Johnston. They quickly became a competitive team, entering as many regattas as they could find. The young club began winning races and in 2010 a men’s club was formed, coached by Dave Adams of Oakland Strokes (Being too heavy for the lighter weight women’s shells, the men took to the water in a vintage Graeme King wooden eight which turned a few heads at their first regattas!).
The fall of 2010 brought with it rumors that JLAC was struggling financially and might fold, due in part to City of Oakland budget cuts. But like good rowers, the women and men of the masters team did not let this phase them and continued rowing. In the winter of 2010, the Board of Directors of JLAC terminated their Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Oakland, returning control of the Boathouse to the City on January 31, 2011.
By the end of February, the Boathouse had been locked, the locks changed and all activities suspended – leaving the former JLAC rowers to figure out what to do and determining their own destiny.
With no access to the boats and equipment, the team held land practices and through the generosity of the Lake Merritt Rowing Club, held a few water practices at Lake Merritt, using equipment generously lent to the team. In the meantime, a new JLAC usage agreement was negotiated with the City of Oakland Dept. of Parks and Recreation (OPR) and within a month the team had regained access to the boathouse.
A passionate and dedicated group, the former JLAC rowers began working with OPR to establish a purchase plan to buy back the rowing equipment from the City. Funding the purchase entirely from their own pockets, they borrowed a launch, opened a bank account, and insured the boats and filed paperwork with the State of California to establish their own non-profit rowing club.
The group, renamed the East Bay Rowing Club (EBRC), was officially established on March 1, 2011, led by Head Coach Sabrina Hunter. Coach Reba Knickerbocker arrived in an interim capacity in the fall of 2011, and stepped into the position of Head Coach a few months later.
Under Coach Knickerbocker, the East Bay Rowing Club has flourished. EBRC now hosts annual winter and spring Learn To Row events as well as one on National Learn To Row Day. The effort has paid off with a combined men’s and women’s team numbering over 80.
Led by an experienced and dedicated coaching staff, the club has steadily made a name for itself, competing and medaling at numerous regional regattas, as well as participating in friendly scrimmages with other local clubs. EBRC participates on the national level with regular entries at the San Diego Crew Classic and is excited to have been accepted into Boston’s Head Of The Charles Regatta for the Fall of 2012.
Help us lift this boat up and overhead by sponsoring the non-profit EBRC today!
The East Bay Rowing Club is growing in members and racing wins. As a result, we have hopes for both the healthy growth of the club and as well as for equipment to train and race in. We are looking for sponsorship and support to help in this growth and look forward to working with you on promotion, visibility and advertising for your company or yourself as an individual sponsor.
Rowing promotes teamwork, dedication and fun. If you would like to promote your company or business as in line with these values then what better sponsorship opportunity that a rowing club? We are happy to develop an individual and tailored approach for our sponsors depending on budgets and objectives.
The East Bay Rowing Club is grateful for the support of businesses and individuals and would be happy to keep you updated on all club activities – which Regattas we are entering, how we do in the standings and how the club is growing in size and function. Please contact us today for any sponsorship questions.
Coach Knickerbocker is the Head Coach of EBRC and has been coaching since 1997. She holds a USRA Level III certification and a Masters Degree in Exercise and Sport Studies from Smith College. She has coached at the youth, collegiate, and masters levels, working with both novice and experienced rowers. Coach Knickerbocker’s coaching philosophy has three points: 1. Be open to change 2. Push past your perceived physical and mental limits. 3. Seek out competitive opportunities because those will help you achieve #1 and #2.
A native of Houston, Tejas but vagabond by nature, Kirin coaches the women’s novice team for EBRC. A natural athlete and initially a martial artist, she walked onto the team at USC and there began her rowing career. Kirin arrived in the Bay Area in 2010 to attend Mills College. While studying Economics and Math (she’s great at computing stroke rates over heart BPM equations), she also captained the crew team for three of her four years rowing with Mills. Kirin got involved with EBRC 3-years ago when it was under the JLAC banner, and coached youth programs when they were in their infancy. She is resident of Oakland and a Philips Fellow, dealing in conflict resolution and mentoring empowerment as it relates to sport.
Axel is the EBRC men’s head coach. He began his rowing career at the age of 14 in Northeastern Germany at the Olympic Rowing Club in Rostock. He won the 2001 to 2004 national championships in Germany and was a member of the German National Team from 2001-2004, where he was a finalist at the U19 World Rowing Championships in 2002 and 2003. In 2006, Axel came to the University of California, Berkeley to row as a golden bear. At Cal, Axel won two Pac 10 championships, and one national championship at the IRA regatta. While at Cal, Axel coached the Cal Lighweight men for a season before moving to Africa for two years to work for Architecture for Humanity. Upon his return to the bay area, Axel began coaching the novice boys team at NorCal Crew in Redwood City. He coached the boys to their first team medals, including a bronze in the freshman eight and gold in the novice quad. Axel began coaching with EBRC in December 2011.
Adrienne is the novice men’s and women’s assistant coach at EBRC. She began her rowing career at the Marin Rowing Association in 2002 as a freshman in high school. After stroking the varsity eight boat at Marin for three years, Adrienne was recruited to row at the University of California, Berkeley. She won three Pac 10 championships, as well as, two silver medals and a bronze medal at the NCAA championships as a golden bear. Adrienne began coaching in 2008 at the Marin Rowing Association Learn to Row summer camps. After graduating from Cal, Adrienne worked with disadvantaged youth in southern Africa for a year before returning to the bay area to pursue a master’s degree in counseling. Adrienne has been coaching at EBRC since January 2012.
The men and women of the EBRC would love to come row in your regatta!
Please contact us to see if our schedule allows.
If you’re with good friends, getting up early is actually pretty easy.
East Bay Rowing Club manages the Oakland Technical High School rowing program. Beginning in 2012, EBRC responded to the requests of youth and parents that were interested in developing the rowing program. Working with the parents, EBRC has committed the equipment, coaching and water access to train and develop youth’s understanding of teamwork, health and fitness, respect for the natural environment, safety, and constructive goal-setting through participation in rowing. EBRC specifically strives to promote the sport of rowing to youth and underserved members of our local community.
The Oakland Tech Rowing Club is registered as a school ‘club’; not supported by funding from the school or the athletic department. Oakland Tech Rowing Club will soon begin the process of fundraising to acquire a small fleet of shells, oars and accessories to sustain growth and hone a competitive edge. With the club being kept within 10-15 athletes in the first year, many races will be focused on rowing Novice 4+’s and a mixed 8+’s. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about this program.
Sign ups for the OTR Summer Rowing Camps are currently open, please see the Oakland Tech Summer Camps link or contact the coach Axel rowing@oaklandtech.org.
Throughout the year, East Bay Rowing Club extends opportunities to the community to participate in Learn to Row events. No knowledge of rowing is necessary, and people of all ages and fitness levels are encouraged to attend. Our primary event is held on the first Saturday of June, which is National Learn to Row Day, when we hold a three-hour class that instructs on parts of the boat, rowing terminology, the rowing stroke (practicing on an erg), and rowing in our barge. After attending the session, interested participants are given the opportunity to join the club as beginner rowers. Our coaching staff is experienced in training beginner to advanced rowers. We also hold focused learn to row events throughout the year for the general public, corporations, military veterans and the general community. Please contact us to schedule an event, or to learn about the next scheduled introductory session.
Throughout the year East Bay Rowing club holds “Fitness Crew” sessions. These sessions meet twice a week for about 10 weeks total. These sessions focus on general fitness based around the rowing motion for a total body workout. No experience is required to join this no-impact, high intensity workout group. The sessions are normally held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 11am. Please contact us to find out more about and when the next session starts.
The East Bay Rowing Club masters program consists of beginner, intermediate and advanced rowers with ages ranging from mid 20’s to mid 70’s. Rowers practice and compete in a variety of rowing and sculling shells, including 8+’s, 4+’s, pairs, singles, doubles, and quads. The training programs focus on all aspects of rowing, and include participation in regional and national regattas.
The Masters program welcomes experienced rowers as well as those with no rowing background. The Learn to Row events are typically used as an introduction to new participants, allowing groups of beginner rowers learn the basics together. Adults of all fitness levels are welcome. If you are interested in learning if East Bay Rowing Club is right for you, please contact us- we would love to talk with you and introduce you to the team.
The men’s team practices on M, W, F at 5:20AM - 7:30 AM, with optional land workouts on T, TH, and Saturday mornings. Women practice times are T, TH (5:20 AM – 7:30 AM), Saturday (6:00 AM – 7:30 AM) with optional land practices on M, W mornings. Both water and land workouts are planned by our coaches for race conditioning and ongoing fitness improvements.
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