Taking the Sport of Rowing to a New Level

Whether hiking its scenic trails, fishing its beautiful waters, or simply driving the I-96 overpass of Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark, you may have spotted Northville Rowing Club’s rowers gliding their boats across the water top. The club, which is a non-profit rowing team organized through Northville High School, has recently established its new home at Shore Fishing in Kensington. The move to Kensington not only allows for additional exposure of the sport of rowing but gives the team space to grow. “Rowing is a sport that is growing in leaps and bounds in our area. We are delighted that our new location will provide further exposure of the sport in order to ensure its continued growth,” said Dawnmarie Ozog, President of the club.

The Northville Rowing Club was established seven years ago and initially held practices at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The team is comprised of Northville High School students. However, the move to Kensington allows the team to open its membership to high school students from surrounding areas. Head Coach, Nick Bickes said that “a limited number of high schools in the area have established rowing teams. Opening up a portion of our membership to high school students outside of Northville High School allows those students interested in rowing a chance to be part of a rowing team.”

During fall and spring seasons, the team competes in regattas in Ann Arbor, Orchard Lake, Grand Rapids and Leelanau, just to name a few. During winter season the team stays in shape with yoga, indoor cycling, weight training and erging.

During the summer, the club offers learn-to-row camps for middle and high school students as well as adult programs. “The camps give the public an opportunity to give the sport a try and learn the basics of rowing. Our hope is to encourage local schools to form their own teams with the goal of increasing accessibility to the sport. We hope to see more teams established over the next few years,” said Bickes.

To learn more about the team or the camps offered this summer, please visit the club’s website at www.northvillerowing.com. And if you happen to see our boats out at Kent Lake, give us a “Row Mustangs” shout-out!