Juniors Capital Fundraising Update
Greetings supporters and friends of Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors,
I am writing to you all to provide an update about our present capital campaign. At the beginning of this year we initiated a campaign to raise $100,000 for the purchase of four top of the line racing shells, ten new rowing machines and some additional funds for a new engine and trailer for our launch fleet.
Why Are We Fundraising At This Time?
Tulsa rowing club juniors has blossomed into a 50+ athlete program in just a few short years. To accommodate this growth and to remain competitive in our region we need to improve our resources and equipment. If you are interested in reading our original campaign kick off letter, please visit the following link so that you can learn more about our current and future needs.
http://www.tulsajuniorsrowing.org/fundraising/default.asp
How Much Progress Have We Made Since We Started The Campaign?
Since we made the announcement about our campaign, we have met with tremendous support from boosters and friends of the club. Our total amount of donations or pledges provided by TRCJ and our adult masters members totals $36,500.
With existing funds in TRC accounts and Stone Family Foundation Matching funds our total for fundraising now stands at $88,000. These are enough funds to purchase the boats and purchase a new engine and a trailer for a coaching launch. At this time we have 12K remaining in Stone Family Foundation matching funds. Therefore, for every $1.50 we raise this foundation will match with a $1.00 contribution.
My sincere thanks go to everyone who has shown their support of our present fundraising drive, this represents a major step forward for the standard of our equipment and will definitely help our performance to be a better program in service to Tulsa.
Why Is It Important The We Reach Our Fundraising Goal of $100,000?
At the present point in time and in the near future, it is likely that our juniors program will have sixty or more athletes competing. This is an all time high for the program and bodes well for future success. There is much positive momentum and hard work going on at the boathouse and I know that there are great things in store for our athletes. However, this makes the need for funds for the purchase of ten new rowing machines imperative to our success.
The logistics of running a sixty strong juniors rowing program are great and these rowing machines are important to reach that goal. Each Concept 2 rowing ergometer costs $1100 which also includes delivery costs. For more information on these machines please visit the following link.
http://www.concept2.com/us/indoorrowers/d_home.asp
If you know of anyone that can help, or would like us to approach to solicit funds for these final items, please let me know.
What Are Our Athletes Doing To Help With Fundraising?
In addition to the capital campaign, the athletes are doing their part and have raised $9600 as a result of their participation in our annual Row-A-Thon last month. At this point in time, more athletes continue to turn in funds by the day, so we are looking good to reach our goal of $10,600. This money will be used to pay off existing loans on previous boat purchases and help with our overall budget for running the juniors program.
In conclusion, we have great momentum as we start our spring season and I look forward to working with you all over the coming months.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely,
Neil Bergenroth
Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors – Head Coach
918.906.5233
February 26, 2011 | Juniors
Tulsa Rowing Club Well Represented At The Dallas SWEAT
On Saturday February 19th, 2011 the Tulsa Rowing Club competed in the South West Ergometer Amateur Tournament held in Dallas, TX. The club performed exceptionally well in both the adult and junior categories. This indoor rowing event features events for different age and weight categories. Individual athletes compete over two thousand meters on Concept Two rowing machines and try to record the fastest time possible. At the close of racing, the team had won four medals and also placed well in other events and many athletes recording personal best times.
In the Women’s Masters Lightweight category Sara Younger rowed well to win the silver medal. In the Men’s Masters 30 to 39 age group category Neil Bergenroth won the Gold medal in a time of 6:52.7.
In the juniors events the team also performed well to continue this success. In the women’s High School Freshman Category Mykelah Lehmann (Edison) won the bronze medal with a time of 8:28.0. In addition, Madeline Lee (Victory Christian) and Taylor Abel (Monte Casino) placed 4th and 5th respectively.
In the Men’s Junior Novice category Warren White rowed to a silver place finish with a personal best time of 6:56.7.
In addition to strong club performances, recent graduates of the Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors program Emily Carstens and Courtaney Miller won silver and 4th in the women’s collegiate competition representing Southern Methodist University.
In the Women’s Junior Lightweight Novice event Bishop Kelley senior Amy Richardson placed 4th in a time of 8:34.3. Richardson has been recruited to row at the University of Tulsa after she graduates, so this performance bodes well for their future lightweight team.
In the Women’s Junior Novice event Bailey Robison (Holland Hall) placed 5th with a personal best time of 8:24.3.
The success of the team continued with Victoria Richter (Cascia Hall) and OxziAna Herbert (Monte Casino) placing 4th and 5th in the Women’s Junior Lightweight category.
The boy’s team also found success when Ryan Arthur (Holland Hall) and Cody Shafer (Union) placed 4th and 5th in the Men’s High School Freshman event.
“Today was an excellent overall team performance, which is truly a testament to the dedication and training that the athletes have put in all winter. The multitude of personal bests is a good indicator for future success this season,” said boys coach Coach Adam Stoermer.
February 20, 2011 | Juniors