Since its modest launch 16 years ago with a handful of student athletes rowing in borrowed boats and with used oars, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Crew has grown into one of the most successful scholastic rowing programs in the Washington area. These accomplishments are even more remarkable considering that rowing is not a sponsored sport by Montgomery County Public Schools. B-CC Crew is run by B-CC Crew Boosters, Inc., a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization of dedicated parent volunteers.
A member of the National Capital Area Scholastic Rowing Association until 2007, B-CC Crew is now an independent high school rowing team with competitive programs in the fall and the spring rowing seasons. A founding member of the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association, B-CC Crew joins other local public and private high schools to compete each May in the WMIRA Championships. In addition, B-CC Crew competes in other local, regional and national races-on the Potomac River, the Occoquan Reservoir, the Anacostia River, the Schuylkill River (Philadelphia) as well as other racing venues. The team rows out of Thompson Boat Center located along Georgetown's waterfront.
Its Early Beginnings
In 1993, a small group of B-CC parents organized the first team which consisted of 26 rowers. With parents at Walt Whitman High School, who had started a team several years prior, both schools worked with Montgomery County Public School officials to establish rowing as a high school club sport in the county. Today B-CC Crew includes more than 80 rowers and is now the largest co-ed sport at B-CC High School. Along with Whitman, Walter Johnson and Montgomery Blair, B-CC Crew remains one of four public high school rowing teams in Montgomery County.
In the early years, boats were borrowed from local colleges such as Trinity and George Washington, and from local rowing clubs. The team purchased used oars. It "hitched" rides on trailers belonging to other local teams in order to transport boats to area regattas. As B-CC Crew grew, the team members and parents found ways to defray many of the costs though wreath sales, erg-a-thons, car washes, bake sales and other activities. In 2001, the B-CC Crew purchased its first two new boats, both "Fours." The team now owns two Fours and six Eights, four launch boats and a trailer.
Its Accomplishments
Over the past 16 years, B-CC Crew has achieved tremendous success both at local and national regattas. In 2000, the Men's Junior Four won the silver medal at The Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, the most prestigious championship in scholastic racing.
In 2001, the Men's Senior Four won the gold medal at The Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, the most prestigious championship in scholastic racing. Until that year, the event had not been won by a Washington area school since 1970. Also that year, Chris Graves, B-CC's head coach, was named Coach of the Year and the Men's 1st Four was named best boat by the Washington Post.
2002, the Men's Junior and Senior Fours advanced to the semi-finals at Stotesbury. The Women's Junior and Senior Fours advanced to the finals. The Women's Senior Four came in 6th overall and the Woman's Junior Four won bronze. The Scholastic Rowing Association of America's National Regatta in Oakridge, TN, the Men's and Women's Junior and Senior Fours advanced into the finals with the Women's Junior Four winning silver.
In 2003, the Men's Lightweight Eight was named best boat by the Washington Post and came in 5th overall at Stotesbury in the Men's Lightweight Eights competition. The Women's Junior Four and the Senior Eight both made it into the finals at Stotesbury, finishing 5th and 6th respectively.
In 2004, the Women's Senior Eight rowed into the semi-finals at Stotesbury. The Men's Lightweight Eight won bronze and the Women's 2nd Eight, competing in the dreaded Lane 6 on the Schuylkill River, won gold at Stotesbury.
In 2005, the Women's 2nd Eight placed first in the Senator Charles Percy National Capital Championship Regatta; 1st Eight placed second and the Men's 4th Eight finished first. At Stotesbury, the Women's Senior Eight advanced to the semi-finals. The Men's Junior Eight, Men's Lightweight Four and Women's 2nd Eight rowed into the finals, each finishing fourth overall in their respective divisions.
In 2006, in the National Capital Championship Regatta, the Men's 1st Eight placed second; the Men's 2nd Eight placed second; Men's Freshman Eight place second; and the Women's 2nd Four placed second. At the Ted Phoenix Regatta, the Men's Novice Eight won gold. At Stotesbury, for the first time in the team's history, a freshman boat made it into the semi-finals, the Men's Freshman Eight.
In 2007, in the National Capital Championship Regatta, the Men's 1st and 2nd Eight won silver; the Women's 1st Eight and the Women's 1st Four won bronze. First place ribbons were earned by the Women's Freshman Eight, the Women's Novice Eight and the Men's Novice Eight. At the Ted Phoenix Regatta, the Women's Freshman Eight won gold. At Stotesbury, the Women's Freshmen Eight continued its strong season of racing and won bronze, the first freshman team medal for B-CC Crew at this regatta.
In the 2007-2008 Season, B-CC Crew organized it first fall varsity rowing program and entered the Head of the Occoquan in Fairfax County, VA. B-CC Women's Youth Eight placed 15th in a field of 27. The Women's Youth Four came in 8th in a field of 21. B-CC Men's Youth Eights placed 8th and 10th out of 33 boats in their division. In the Spring 2008 season, the Men's and Women's 1st Eights captured the Purple and Blue Cup and the Blue and Gold VisiBaron Trophy from Gonzaga and Georgetown Visitation respectively. B-CC Crew won the Montgomery Cup against Walt Whitman with the Men's and Women's 1st Eights and Men's 2nd Eight winning first place and the Women's 2nd Eight and Men's 1st Four coming in second. In the 1st Annual Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship, the Women's 1st and 2nd Eights won gold and two championship trophies, the Gretchen G. Ellsworth Cup and the Anacostia Cup. The Men's 1st and 2nd Eights captured silver. At Stotesbury, four boats rowed into the semi-finals: the Men's Senior and 2nd Eights and the Women's Senior and 2nd Eights. The Women's 2nd Eight advanced to the finals and came in fourth. At Nationals in Oak Ridge, TN, the Men's 1st won third place in the Third Final.
The 2008-2009 Season started with a fall program of four head races, including the prestigious Head of the Charles where B-CC Crew sent three varsity boats: a Youth Men's Four, a Youth Women's Four and a Youth Women's Eight. The three boats rowed hard in stiff winds and against national and international competition, finishing in the middle of their respective contests. At the Occoquan Challenge, B-CC Crew fielded two Women
In the Spring Season, rowing against 11 other high school rowing teams in the 1st Annual Maryland State Championship Regatta, B-CC dominated the competition and won not only the Montgomery Cup, but also the State Championship. In 14 events, B-CC Crew grabbed nine 1st place victories and two 2nd place wins. Hosted by St. Paul's School (Baltimore County), the Championship Regatta was held at Baltimore Rowing Club on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. Gold medals were won by B-CC Men's and Women's 1st Eights; Women's 2nd Eight; Women's Freshman Eight; Men's Novice Eight; Men's 1st Four; Women's 1st Four in heats A and B; and the Women's 2nd Four. Silver was claimed by the Men's 2nd Eight and the Men's Freshman Eight.
Racing in nine different events at the 2nd Annual Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships on the Anacostia River, B-CC men and women medaled in eight events. The Women's 1st Eight won the Gretchen G. Ellsworth Cup. The Women's 2nd Eight took home the Anacostia Cup. The Women's Freshmen Eight won the Orrick Cup. This impressive collection of wins added up to an overall regatta points victory, and the women's squad took home the Christopher Graves Cup. On the men's side, the Men's 1st Eight, Novice Eight and Freshman Eight took 2nd place in their respective contests. The Men's 2nd Eight placed 3rd.
At Stotesbury, the Men's Freshmen Eight advanced into the finals, the first time in the history of B-CC Crew, and finished 6th overall out of nearly 40 boats. At Nationals at Mercer Lake, NJ, the Men's Senior Eight and the Men's 2nd Eight advanced in their opening races and the Men's 2nd Eight rowed into the semi-finals.
In June 2003, the Washington Post named Head Coach Chris Graves as Coach of the Year for Women's Rowing. This was the second time in his career at B-CC to receive the Coach of the Year honor.
Since 2001, 20 of our students have been recognized individually as Washington Post All Met athletes and three of our rowers have been named to the U.S. Junior National Team. Our team members have gone on to row or cox in colleges such as Barnard, Bates, Bowdin, Bucknell, Boston College, Clark, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Delaware, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Lafayette, Middlebury, University of North Carolina, Northeastern, Northwestern, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, U Mass, University of Washington, Washington College, Wisconsin and Yale.
A Club Sport of Volunteer Parents and Dedicated Athletes
B-CC Crew Boosters enjoys a strong relationship with Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School administration, but, as a club sport, it receives no financial or administrative support from Montgomery County Public Schools. (To be supported by the county, a sport must have the participation of 2/3 of the schools in Montgomery County.) B-CC Crew relies solely on student participation fees, fund-raisers, donations and grants to meet its day-to-day operations and boat and equipment needs. Financial assistance is available for dedicated rowers or coxswains who express need for financial help.
B-CC Crew parents also devote considerable volunteer hours to ensure that the weekend racing competitions run smoothly and safely. At races and regattas, parents drive launch boats for race judges, serve as stakeboat holders at the start line, staff the finish line, direct traffic, and much more. Parents organize carpools to and from Thompson Boat Center for weekday practices, host Friday night suppers for the team and coaches, bring snacks and water to the regattas and much more.
Dedication, discipline and teamwork are the hallmarks of B-CC Crew team members. On the water, success is measured not by the ability of one or two superstars, but by the willingness of everyone in the boat to work hard and in unison. Off the water, B-CC athletes train five days a week. Practices are not optional. At the start of each season, each crew member signs a no-second-chance pledge on the use of drugs or alcohol.
Unlike sports such as soccer, baseball, tennis, swimming which draw athletes at a young age, there is almost no opportunity to become a competitive rower or coxswain prior to high school. Although B-CC Crew runs a novice program in the fall for interested rowers, B-CC freshmen and novices join the team in the spring as equals in the sport. Any student who shows interest and commitment is welcome to try out for the team.