Great Valley Crew Heading To National Competition

MALVERN, PA – Great Valley High School's crew club already has some nice accolades to its name this year. It's got two first-place finishes for the freshman girls’ boat, and with an overall fourth place finish at the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association finals after competing in seven regattas this season.

Now, the club will head to the SRAA National Championships Regatta on Memorial Day weekend on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

The national championship regatta will take place Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27

The club will be taking two boats to the competition in just its second season of being a club.

The boys’ JV boat started the season strong, placing second and then first in the first two regattas.

The JV boat made a strong showing at the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association (PSRA) finals and is expected to qualify for Nationals as well.

The boys’ freshman team placed fourth in the PSRA finals and is poised to race at the JV level next year.

"We are thrilled to be a part of it and very proud of our amazing group of kids and coaching staff," said Denise Kerns, who runs the Great Valley Crew Club program.

The Great Valley Crew began its program in the spring of 2016 with just 14 athletes.

Now the team stands at 28 rowers.

The team says its goal is to be competitive, but also inclusive.

It currently rows out of a boat house in Wilmington, Delaware, on the Christina River.

The program is funded solely by registration fees, fundraising by the team, and assistance from the Great Valley Community Organization (GVCO).

Parents consistently drive the rowers to practice four days each week, and to the regattas in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The vision of the Great Valley Crew Team is to not only develop young adults in the sport of rowing, but to build character through the challenges of victory and defeat; to promote community through the responsibility of teamwork and sportsmanship; and to achieve personal excellence through the values of dedication, determination and hard work.

The team is comprised of male and female athletes in grades nine through 12.

Image via Denise Kerns