Santa Barbara Community Rowing is on a mission to grow the sport of rowing throughout Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast.
The organization, which was founded in 2023, currently fields a junior racing team and hosts summer camps for youth ages 11 and older.
The junior team has found plenty of success as of late, including turning in a solid performance at the Southern California League Cal Cup earlier in April and the Pacific Invitational Cup in March.
At the Cal Cup in Long Beach, Santa Barbara’s Jacie Dingman won the U16 women’s single division while Dingman was joined by Hadleigh Bolton to take home first in the U16 women’s double.
Rounding out the standout performers was Elsa Loya, who placed third in the U17 women’s single. Bolton also captured bronze in the U16 women’s single.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara showed out at the Pacific Invitational Cup in San Francisco as well.
There, Dingman and Bolton once again earned a first-place finish in the U16 women’s double while Dingman picked up first place in the U16 women’s single.
On the boys side, Diego Stephenson registered a second-place finish in the men’s single division as a sophomore in high school.
They will also be competing in the Southwest Regional Youth Championships on Lake Natoma (May 3-5) and the USRowing Youth National Championships in Florida (June 6-9).
The head coach of the team is Gracie Barbara, who rowed at Indiana University before coaching at the University of Louisville, the University of Alabama and UCLA.
With her experience in the sport and the large athletic population on the Central Coast, Barbara would like to see the program grow over the coming years.
“There’s so much potential in Santa Barbara County to build a powerhouse youth team,” Barbara said. “It’s an athletic population and our weather means we can row year round.
“I’d love to see our program grow to have 20 or 30 kids practicing together. When you are out on the water with a bunch of other kids and the boats are flying, it’s really an incredible feeling.”
In fact, Santa Barbara Community Rowing is offering youth summer camps for the 2024 summer and Learn to Row programs throughout the year for adults and kids.
“Whether you row competitively or recreationally, rowing really sets you up for success,” Barbara said. “A lot of kids go on to row in college, and I constantly hear from teachers and college counselors that rowers are admired for their discipline, leadership and problem-solving skills.”
For more information on the Santa Barbara Community Rowing programs, visit https://www.rowsbc.org/.