FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What is Boone Crew?

Boone Crew is a team of men and women rowers/coxswains that rows in competitive Regattas against other local central Florida schools, and schools from across Florida and the Southeast. Crew is a club sport at William R. Boone High School, meaning the team carries the school name and affiliation but receives no funding from the school or from Orange County. Instead, a non-profit entity called the South Orlando Rowing Association (SORA) manages Boone Crew and the team is funded by dues assessed to rowers and coxswains.

Q. Who can participate on the team?

Boone Crew is open to ANY Boone student, and it is one of the few school sports in which every student will participate in competition. Boone Crew fields a Men’s team and a Women’s team. Each team is segmented into varsity boats, junior varsity boats and novice boats. Novice is the term given to first-year rowers/coxswains; first-year rowers can be students from any class – freshmen up through seniors.

Q. What does it cost to participate in Boone Crew?

Rower/coxswain financial dues/obligations vary from year to year, depending upon the budget voted on by the SORA Board. For the 2004/2005 season, this will be $1,200 total financial obligation (10 monthly payments of $120). However, that cost can be offset by a number of fundraising opportunities held during the school year.

Q. How/where do students train?

Crew athletes are highly conditioned for endurance and for strength to provide the energy required for 1,500-meter races and for the sudden bursts of speed required to beat teams by tenths of a second.

Athletes receive a mix of land and water training. On land, athletes are conditioned for endurance, often running cross country, light weightlifting, and “erging” – the latter being a land-based rowing simulator that students use to improve their cardio-vascular conditioning.

Water training is held at various times of the school week at Turkey Lake Park, off of Hiawassee Road in Orlando. The Men’s team and Women’s team have different practice schedules, but suffice to say in the Fall, students practice at Turkey Lake Park three to four days a week, or possibly they may hold land-training one day a week at Boone.

Q. How do students get to Turkey Lake Park?

We operate a team bus that leaves the Boone campus for practice and returns to the Boone campus at the designated parking location.

Students may drive if approved by their parents/guardians.

Q. How can students train vigorously and still meet their scholastic commitments?

Crew teaches students to become disciplined and organized. Many rowers/coxes are Honors students and maintain a high level of academic excellence and some of the highest GPAs among Boone students. Students meet their academic commitments because they want to maintain their academic standing to go to Turkey Lake. Students talk about rowing as a break from their school pressures and a way to unwind at the end of the day.

Q. Where are Regattas held?

Regatta races are held in any number of venues statewide. Predominantly, the majority of Boone Crew regattas are held in the Orlando area, either at Turkey Lake Park, or Lake Fairview.

This Fall, there will be two Regattas in Jacksonville and northern Georgia. The Spring Regatta schedule kicks off in February with the Novice Regatta and there will be 13 events between February and the Nationals Regatta in May with travel to Miami and other sites for competition. Other Regattas will be hosted in Orlando.