FoGR
Friends of Guilford Rowing
Friends of Guilford Rowing (FOGR) is the fundraising arm of the registered 501(c)(3). Join Us! FOGR has meetings the first Thursday of each month at the Guilford Community Center at 7:30 pm. Please join our group and help us make a great experience for all the members of the team.
Secretary - Maintain contacts for Season, send emails from FOGR groups to
parents/students, maintain text messaging, create sign-up geniuses as needed
● Lisa Seales (203) 530-9591
Treasurer - Maintain FOGR accounts, write checks and pay invoices when needed, take
receipts and reimburse for FOGR expenses, maintain Venmo account, provider financial
report at parent meeting in Spring
● Kevin Lai
● Sean Jackson (203) 887-4045
Fundraising - The Fundraising Committee plays a vital role in supporting the team’s
success both on and off the water. This group organizes and promotes events that raise
money to fund race-day meals, the spectator fees for the State competition, team
celebrations like Senior Night and the End-of-Year Picnic, and important equipment
purchases such as oars and boats.
Our main fundraisers include the Erg Raffle (November), Polar Plunge (March), team car
washes (5/31 & 8/14), and various Dinner Out Nights (Winter). Additional ideas and
volunteers are always welcome—we aim to keep the team's account strong and growing!
● Rebecca Chung (917) 374-3435
● Carmela Valentino (203) 605-9698
● Darcy Turner (734) 646-2820
● Kim Adams (360) 929-1632
● Car Wash Chair VACANT
● Special Olympics Polar Plunge VACANT
Food For Races - This committee ensures our rowers and coxswains are well-fed and
supported after each race—home and away! Volunteers help plan meals, set up tables, and
organize contributions through SignUpGenius for non-perishable food items. We’re working toward a system where one volunteer “takes a race” to share the workload, with a
designated point person to store and manage tables, coolers, and shared supplies like
cutlery, paper products, and pantry staples. This is a team effort—many hands make light
work! If you enjoy organizing, being part of race day energy, or just love feeding hungry
athletes, we’d love to have you.
● Brittany Jones (617) 710-0221 - CHAIR
● VACANT
● VACANT
Pasta Parties - Contact person communicates with parents hosting pasta parties, relays
information to the secretary for sign-up genius, Pasta parties are the night before a race and the host provides the location, the other parents help with Chaperoning and bringing all the food, drinks and paper products.
● Nuria Miller (203) 809-4107
Let Nuria know if you are interested in hosting a pasta party!
Spirit Wear - Ordering Novice Jackets, March, ordering other spiritwear and organizing table at spirit wear sales at races.
● Erica Granucci (203) 500-3242 CHAIR
● Noemi Kearns (860) 985-8500 Design and Zuse Liaison
● VACANT
PR/Media/Social Media/Website Content - Sending content to Courier with Race
Results/photos, planning community service events (Halloween Spooktackular, Parade etc),
keeping social media platforms active for fundraising community events, and communication to Website Admin current content for events etc.
● Noemi Kearns (860) 985-8500
● Rebecca Chung (917) 374-3435
● Althea Lankford (203) 962-6740
● Brittney Jones (617) 710-0221 - Parade Float
● Jeff Holway (GuilfordRowing.org website Admin)
Senior Night/End of Season Picnic - Organize photos of Seniors for Banners, Senior Night
planning, secure Jacob's Beach and Pizza truck for EOY picnic, decorate pavilion, plan for
desserts/beverages, senior gifts, coaches gifts,
● Amanda Meyer (203) 804-1727
● Nuria Miller (203) 809-4107
● Noemi Kearns (860) 985-8500
● Brittney Jones (617) 710-0221 - food only
● Rebecca Chung - Senior Banners
Flagger for Races - Positioned at finish line, flags as each boat crosses for Coaches.
● Noah Meyer (203) 804-1726
● Sean Jackson (203) 887-4045
● Mike Michalowski (860) 490-2552
Parking - Direct cars for parking (best for Larger Home races) ensure cars don't park in
areas needed for crew teams, cones out, and signage for crosswalk (usually only at the
beginning of the race)
● Nuria Miller (203) 809-4107
VACANT
In 2005, William Thompson founded the Guilford High School Crew team with just 22 rowers and served as its Head Coach until 2015. Since its inception, the participation level on the Guilford Crew Team has been consistently growing with approximately 80 to 90 rowers per year.
About the sport
Crew is truly a team sport where students have to work together to achieve a common goal. There are no individual stars in crew, it is a team event. One of the greatest aspects of this sport is that it is a group effort and every person has to contribute equally.
A normal on the water training session consists of stretching/boat meeting; technique drills; high intensity and low-intensity rowing; and a stretching cool down/boat meeting. The coaches spend quite a lot of time teaching rowers the proper techniques of rowing. Including the stroke; catch; drive; finish; and recovery. Every movement a rower makes in the boat can change the boat, so each rower works hard to perfect their technique.
The rowers work extremely hard off the water to stay in top condition for competition. Rowers work on their cardiovascular endurance, core strength, and upper and lower body muscular strength and endurance throughout the fall and winter to prepare for the competitive spring season. Rowing requires the entire body to perform at its highest level. So rowers must continually work to improve all parts of their body. Many rowers work out on rowing machines called “ergs” to improve their technique and strength. In addition, they also do weight lifting to improve their muscular strength and endurance.