USRowing and Waterkeeper Alliance Launch “Row for Clean Water” Initiative
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
PRINCETON, NJ and NEW YORK, NY – USRowing and Waterkeeper Alliance today announced the launch of “Row for Clean Water,” a joint initiative to promote the importance of clean water and access to waterways nationwide.
The initiative aligns USRowing organizations with local Waterkeeper organizations in efforts to test, protect and clean up the waterways and communities where rowers are active.
“Being a water-dependent sport clearly makes clean waterways a top priority for us,” said Beth Kohl, Chief Marketing Officer for USRowing. “Already many of our members and organizations have partnered with Waterkeepers in their efforts to clean and protect our waterways. To build a formal relationship between our two organizations was a natural progression of our grass roots initiatives and we look forward to expanding it to include as many of our more than 1200 member organizations as possible.”
“We are thrilled to partner with USRowing to draw attention to threatened waterways, and work together to preserve and protect them for use by local communities and athletes of all abilities,” said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance.
A recent Associated Press analysis of 2016 Olympic water venues drew international attention to the importance of clean water.
“Row for Clean Water” will bring awareness to issues facing our waterways in advance of athletic participation and spark grassroots efforts in communities where events are held to find solutions to address the problems, educate the community about the importance of clean water, and promote public access to our waterways.
Member clubs, such as the Newburgh Rowing Club in New York have long since formed alliances with local Waterkeeper organizations to promote cleaner, rowable waters.
For example, the Newburgh Rowing Club and Riverkeeper have collaborated for years on many projects. Juliana LoBiondo, General Counsel at Newburgh Rowing Club stated: “We hold joint riverfront cleanups several times a year, attended by our members, their families, and members of the community at large; we collaborate with Riverkeeper in applying for grants to increase access to the Hudson River; and we have a goal to create a water testing station for Riverkeeper right here at the Newburgh Rowing Club over the next year, which will be groundbreaking in terms of how much progress we can make together for cleaner water. Our rowing club also works with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and local colleges on water testing; just this week we hosted hundreds of local school children for a ‘Day in the Life of the Hudson River’ wherein we went out with nets and counted the eels and other waterlife. Our founder, Coach Ed Kennedy, believes that stewardship goes hand in hand with rowing on our majestic Hudson River. That is why the Newburgh Rowing Club and Riverkeeper have formed a community of like-minded people, committed to making the Hudson River cleaner, healthier, and more accessible to a diverse section of the community.”
USRowing surveyed its member organizations to create a focus group of clubs who want to get more involved. Rowing clubs from around the United States have signed on and will be matched up with their local Waterkeepers this fall. The goal of the focus group is to create awareness and additional programming for the clean water initiative. USRowing and Waterkeeper Alliance will host a roundtable discussion at the USRowing Convention in Philadelphia Dec 3-6, to begin addressing these issues on a national level.
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About USRowing
USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing has 75,000 individual members and 1,200 member organizations, offering rowing programs for all. USRowing’s official suppliers include Concept 2, Croker Oars, JanSport, Nielsen Kellerman, Vespoli and WinTech. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation and its corporate sponsors and partners: ANXeBusiness Corp, Boathouse Sports, Bucket List Events, Connect-A-Dock, EMCVenues, Liberty Mutual Insurance,New Balance, Rudy Project and Shimano. USRowing relies on strong partnerships to enable continued success. America Rows, which supports diversity in rowing and provides opportunities for those with disabilities, also benefits from corporate support.
About Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement uniting more than 260 Waterkeeper organizations around the world and focusing citizen advocacy on issues that affect our waterways, from pollution to climate change. Waterkeepers patrol and protect more than 2 million square miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. For more information please visit: www.waterkeeper.org
Contacts:
Beth Kohl, United States Rowing, 203-451-5447, [email protected]
Pete Nichols, Waterkeeper Alliance, 707-845-0832, [email protected]