BRIGHTON, MA - Community Rowing, Inc., the growing nonprofit organization that promotes fitness and the benefits of rowing for all, today is holding the largest corporate team-building exercise since its founding 29 years ago. The event, with a unit of Shire pharmaceuticals, will bring more than 150 employees onto the water at the year-old Harry Parker Boathouse for instruction by some of CRI's 40-person coaching staff.
CRI, already the largest and most active community rowing organization in the country, has held 36 large corporate and facility-rental events since the beginning of its fiscal year, last Nov. 1. The programs provide space, education, and healthy athletic experiences for private or public groups, nonprofits, and clubs.
"Universities and other organizations can motivate their employees and staffs by helping them learn a new sport in an inspiring outdoor setting," said CRI's executive director, Bruce Harold Smith. "They can boost morale, build a sense of community, improve teamwork - and just enjoy a day of fun."
The continuing growth and success of the Corporate Rowing and Facility Rentals programs at CRI have made possible expansion of access to more rowers and a reduction in cost to participants in 2010, which CRI announced this week. CRI is reducing or eliminating costs on six programs, including dropping the per-person Logbook Sculling membership from $400 to $375. The changes were announced as part of a week of events leading up to the Head of the Charles weekend in Boston and Cambridge.
Today, 18 eight-person boats filled with Shire pharmaceuticals' employees will be launching from CRI's new facility in Brighton between 4:30 and 6 p.m. to compete for the top spot on the podium. They will learn how to row and race, taught by CRI's rowing experts.
"There's a reason that everyone associates teamwork with rowing," said Smith. "Nothing teaches people more about the importance of working together than trying to get an eight- oared shell across the finish line in first place."
Corporate Rowing programs at CRI are available to everyone, no experience is required, and many companies participate as a way to enhance their Boston experience during meetings and sales conventions. "CRI provides an amazing and transformative experience that isn't available anywhere else in the country," said Smith. "Boston is a rowing town, and learning how to row is something everyone who visits the city remembers for a lifetime."
Shire plc has offices in Cambridge, MA and worldwide. The group visiting CRI's Brighton facility are from the U.S. headquarters in Pennsylvania.
Besides corporate team-building today, events this week include hosting of the "Great 8" celebrity rowers from around the world, who will guide new rowers in CRI's Outreach Adaptive program before participating in the Head of the Charles competition this coming weekend.
Community Rowing, Inc. is a nonprofit organization in Brighton, MA that delivers after-school programs to urban youth, health and fitness programs to physically and mentally challenged members of the community, and promotes health and fitness for the entire community in Boston. Programs include one-time learning-to-row classes to year-round memberships. CRI was founded in 1985 by a group of Olympic and National Team Rowers with the goal of widening the circle of rowing and securing public access for the sport on the Charles River. Today the organization has about 30 programs, more than 3,000 participants both youth and adult, and a fleet of more than 170 sweep and sculling shells. Its annual budget for this year was $1.7 million. It is the largest and most active community rowing organization in the United States. Learn more at www.communityrowing.org
For more information, please contact:
Bruce Harold Smith, CRI executive director, 617.921.8788,
brucehsmith@gmail.com
