Don't be confused…We are excited to be rolling out our organization's new—easier to say—name! We used to be the UPCRC or The Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club. Whew! What a mouth-full. Don't worry though, we are still located in the Upper Peninsula. We are proud to still be open to our community. We still practice the sport of rowing. And we are still technically a club because we all pay to play. But do we need to say ALL that in a name?

We are now U.P. Rowing. Easy. Done.

And we have a new logo too! Let us know what you think.

Our gift to you this holiday season ;-).

The weather predictions for a hot summer are holding true and our club is bustling with activity. June and July have just flown by! In June we welcomed 34 new Learn to Rowers and already at the end of this week they will be graduating novices! They have worked hard and as a whole are a skilled group with a lot of potential. Our youth rowing program has 20 rowers this year-the second highest number ever! Please encourage our newest members to get on the polls and out on the water with our more seasoned club members!

July began with a bang with the UPCRC fielding 45 individuals who provided over 250 volunteer hours (WOW!!) manning the wrist band and beer tents at the Exchange Club’s 4th of July International Food Fest in Lower Harbor!! In addition, our youth rowers helped empty garbage cans, wipe tables and just generally helped out. This was an awesome showing for our club and I am extraordinarily grateful to everyone who was able to donate some time on a busy holiday weekend to help strengthen our community ties.

This month 6 of our competitive/sport program rowers traveled to Duluth, MN to compete in a regatta. They raced well and learned and laughed a lot along the way! A lot of credit goes to these intrepid rowers who are venturing out of our very, very small pool into the larger waters of the US rowing community. Kudos to all!

As the second half of our on water season begins, we look forward to more recreational rows filled with both our experienced and novice rowers, continuing training and racing for our competitive folks and a guaranteed fun filled day on September 18th as we row in our UPCRC hosted Iron Oars Regatta on Teal Lake in Negaunee. More information on the regatta will follow.

Once again I’d like to remind you that the success of our club is in the hands of our members. Please consider becoming involved in YOUR rowing club! As always, if you have any questions, please contact any UPCRC Board Member or me.

See you on the water!
Debi Cook

The summer forecast is warm and dry and we have already had our earliest ever start to the on-water season! As President, I would like to welcome back all of our returning rowers and briefly update you on the UPCRC Board activity. First, it is important to note that as experienced rowers, you may begin rowing as soon as your requirements have been met and your paperwork and dues check have been submitted to Gail Brayden. Please take advantage of her newly installed yellow mailbox. If you don’t want to wait until the June 8th Orientation Day at the MSHS pool, swim tests can be scheduled at the Y & the PEIF and any board member or erg coach can witness your lift test. The safety video can be viewed independently and can be found online at US Rowing. Membership dues this year are $170. All of this information can be found on our website uprowing.com and on our facebook page. Rowing polls can already be found on the Yahoo site.

2016 marks the beginning of our competitive rowing program and an expansion of our winter erg program. Many members have been erging over the winter months as a way to maintain their fitness and work on technique. In preparation for regatta season, some members will choose to participate in the competitive rows that will be offered through the on-water months. If this is a program that interests you, please contact Sue Lakenen, Deb Jean or Tensi Parsons.

UPCRC members have strengthened our community ties by participating in/preparing for erg classes, erg coaching clinics, an indoor rowing program for disabled young adults, Meters for Melanoma, the Aspen Ridge Family Night event, Marquette Rotary’s 100,000 Meal Packing Event and the Exchange Club’s International Food Fest. Our LTR classes officially begin on June 11th and our youth program begins June 21st (preregistration required).

In addition to preparing for our on-water season, we have been looking at ways to further support our club and our programs. This includes further vetting of potential boathouse options, purchase and maintenance of equipment (you will see another new safety launch on the water!) and further honing of our coaches skills. All of these benefit our club as a whole and have allowed the UPCRC to enhance our programing while maintaining our commitment to safety.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2016-Please Mark Your Calendars

June 7, LTR Informational Meeting at the PWPL

June 8, Orientation Event at the MSHS Pool Entrance (Drop off paperwork, dues, take Swim and Lift Tests, erg instruction, watch safety video)

June 11, LTR Classes start for new novice rowers

June 21, Youth Rowing Begins

June 25, Marquette Rotary 100,000 Meal Packing Event (Help needed, more info to follow)

July 2, 3, 4th, International Food Fest (Our club is volunteering selling wrist bands and pouring beer. This will be a huge fundraiser for us and many hands are needed. More info to follow)

As you can see, the UPCRC is busy, both on and off the water! The success of our club is in the hands of our members. Please consider becoming involved and helping at one or more of our events. As always, if you have any questions, please contact me or any UPCRC Board Member.
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See you on the water!
​Debi Cook, UPCRC President

They've been tucked away in dark storage since October, but now the boats have been set free! We are super excited to get this year's rowing season underway. There is still a lot of organization and rigging to be done, but the ball is rolling and we'll be on the water soon! Thanks to all the UPCRC and NMU rowers who came out to help move the boats around. And we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Are you interested in rowing? Come on down to our no-obligation informational meeting Tuesday, June 7, 2016 in the Peter White Public Library Community Room. The Youth presentation is at 5:30pm, and the Adult presentation is at 7:00pm.

Check out our Calendar of Events page to see the full schedule, and we hope to see you soon!

Well, he might not be "The Most Interesting Man in the World," but Shawn Achor might be the most positive man in the world.​

I don't know if this blog post falls under the category of "tips," or  "observations," or "other ramblings," but since it is that time of year (when winter can get the best of you) I thought I'd share with you something uplifting.

The Art of Positive psychology.

In his TEDTalks speech, The happy secret to better work, Shawn Achor delivers some humorous insight to some serious subjects. It's not easy to break old habits, but I am trying to stay positive and take Shawn's advice.
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You can apply this in your personal life, in your professional life, and in your rowing life!

I know you have 12 minutes, so go ahead and check it out! And then STAY positive, my friends.

We had another great season of rowing this year, but alas, it has once again, come to an end.

Our season begins to wind down after the highlight of our annual Iron Oars Regatta, held on beautiful Teal Lake in Negaunee. This year's weather was worth mentioning....In a GOOD way for once! Sunny and 70, it may have been the best weather we've experienced in the last 10 years of holding the event. And other records were set with a record 16 boats registered from the UPCRC, and a record 31 UPCRC adults participating. With our youth and adult teams, along with NMU and MTU crews, this year's regatta saw 28 boats on the course. The water was a little choppy, but everyone had a fun day of racing!

Thank you to the many volunteers--many not even UPCRC members--who helped make this year's regatta another successful one. We couldn't do it without you!

On October 25, NMU and the UPCRC derigged our shells and tucked everything away for winter storage.

We are already looking forward to next spring so we can do it all over again!

...Though sadly we will be doing it without Kelly, our now-former President. Good luck on your new adventure Kelly. We will miss you!

They got the band back together! It's been a few years, but last month former NMU Crew members were in Marquette for a visit. 

After graduation they went their separate ways, but the tight bond they formed while in the rowing club kept them close and in touch over the years. So here they were, back in ol' Marquette, from as far away as California. And did they want to row while they were here, I asked? You betcha! So as their former coach, I felt a bit responsible for making it happen. This was going to be cool. So we set a time for the next morning to meet up at the UPCRC landing.

The weather was sunny, but breezy, and the water conditions were choppy--not ideal for rowing. But that didn't damper their enthusiasm. They were on the lake for two hours, and all-smiles the entire time. And one of them professed that he was so excited the night before that he couldn't sleep!

Thank you UPCRC for helping to make this happen. Everyone had a blast, and I think I even heard rumblings of making it an annual tradition!