Haddonfield Crew is a unique club that partners with parents and students to create a positive team culture, allowing our rowers to feel supported, welcomed, and challenged. We are stronger coming out of a global pandemic, growing our program, winning medals and establishing a strong boys’ and girls’ team. Our rowers are competitive and recruited, but most importantly, our rowers are a FAMILY.

HCC rowers wear their school colors, row under a club name that includes their school and borough, and row as Dawgs. They are proud to be among more than 80% of students that compete for their school community. Full transparency, rowing is pay to play, but over time your investment costs are equal to any full year sport and the returns are priceless. Why not invest in a team that bears the school’s name?

Crew is a social sport, a team sport, but offers individual opportunities to excel and participate. There are novice races, JV and varsity races, including possible breakout events for lightweight rowers. There are land events using rowing machines (ergs). Our rowers are not limited by a team’s success or failure, but they are motivated by their individual performances on rowing machines to pull together to row in unison for a team victory. The sport has clear winners, but success is measured by growth, progress, improvement and … they can row in college. Many of our rowers go on to row in college.

While our student rowers have made new lifelong friends and have re-established grade school friendships, the social interaction amongst all the rowers’ parents is a great way for parents to meet new parents and to create adult friendships. We ring cowbells together to cheer on our kids and other teams. We help one another manage food tents, banquets, and team dinner nights. With every crew event there is a chance to get to know the other crew families.

HCC welcomes ALL students and we get every rower involved. We value every rower for what they can contribute and who they are. We understand that our club exists to develop your rower…not the other way around.

The hardest parts of rowing are learning how to put a boat safely in the water, learning to listen to your coxswain, learning techniques of position, sequence, and rhythm of a stroke in unison. These are skills that are emphasized in our Learn to Row sessions and in our middle school season-long programs. By starting in middle school, your rower will also build leadership skills and relationships with other rowers, including high school mentors. However, we welcome new rowers at any time, even during high school -- it's never too late to start!

HCC is more affordable than many club teams and our rowers row for their school and community, they row for something bigger than themselves or their club. Your child can row with us from grade 6-12, starting with Learn to Row camps and rowing through high school. Our rowers get PE credit automatically for each season. Our coaching staff is top notch and committed to growing our program. We have outstanding coaches and leadership and we have updated our equipment to give our rowers every competitive advantage.

The races Haddonfield gets to participate in are all SCHOLASTIC RACES, meaning that the only teams invited are scholastic teams whose entire roster consists of athletes who attend the school. HCC is part of the PSRA. The Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association is one of the finest youth athletic programs in the nation. While it was only founded in 1998, its governance over the Manny Flick Series of scholastic races can be traced back to their inception in 1955. “The Flicks,” as they’re known, are five early-spring races for scholastic teams to compete against each other in preparation for “Medals Season”. The Flicks are races where teams size up their competition, try different lineups and rigging tricks looking for more speed, and prepare their teams for races later in the season. In addition to the Flick’s, the PSRA also sponsors the Philadelphia City Championship Regatta, which is often shortened to “City’s”. It is one of the premier Medal Races on our calendar each spring. Haddonfield Crew Club gets to row at the SRAA Nationals. The Scholastic Rowing Association of America, SRAA for short, holds an annual National Championship regatta each May. Typically, this race is held on our Cooper River. Teams from across the United States fight to qualify at their state or regional championship regattas for a bid to this prestigious race. HCC races at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. “Stotes,” as you’re likely to hear it referred to, is the largest high school regatta in the world. It’s been held annually since 1927. There are 5,000+ competitors representing ~200 high schools from the United States and Canada, and 10,000+ spectators cheering them on. It’s roughly THREE TIMES larger than Dad Vail. As we are Haddonfield Memorial High School’s Crew Team, HCC rows in the Garden State Championships. Who doesn’t want to represent their school and hometown at the State Championship? Only rowers who compete for Haddonfield Crew Club can.