Sports at Walls (WaPo article)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why shouldn’t loving and responsible parents want their children to “have ALL the opportunities”? What’s wrong with wanting and striving for the best for your children?

Some of you have very low expectations…and you’ll get what you accept.

It’s low expectations to think a public school with 650 kids should have a rowing team with funding provided by DCPS? Why not start a club team at walls and show us by example with these high expectations. I would describe them more as unrealistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can J-R take this crew opportunity away from SWW kids all of a sudden? Our daughter was counting on going to SWW and starting on the J-R crew team after training all year.

Anonymous wrote:This has been one of my big disappointments with Walls. We knew there wasn't much of a Walls campus, but it is crazy that the swim team commutes to Dunbar for practice everyday when GW has a pool. J-R is pulling up the ladder on having Walls students row on their crew team because of changes in how regattas are defining schools and school districts. So that opportunity is going away. Having a place for graduation is nice, but the sports stuff affects kids day-in and day-out.

Your child can row year around at TBC. Many kids on other high school teams do it for summer and fall at a minimum. While JR has allowed the Walls kids on their team there were always questions as to why that was allowed. The crackdown on teams doing that is a good thing. TBC is great and your child will be just fine.

J-R is the only DCPS high school with a crew program - why can't kids who attend other DCPS schools participate? It's not as if those kids are freeloading; they have been part of the team, they have put in the blood, sweat and tears, they have PAID THE SAME FEES. But they attend schools that are much smaller and lack the resources (those boats cost upwards of $60K) to create their own programs. This is not MoCo, where there are multiple large high schools that can each field its own team. This was a really crappy move by the J-R parents who run the crew program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can J-R take this crew opportunity away from SWW kids all of a sudden? Our daughter was counting on going to SWW and starting on the J-R crew team after training all year.

Anonymous wrote:This has been one of my big disappointments with Walls. We knew there wasn't much of a Walls campus, but it is crazy that the swim team commutes to Dunbar for practice everyday when GW has a pool. J-R is pulling up the ladder on having Walls students row on their crew team because of changes in how regattas are defining schools and school districts. So that opportunity is going away. Having a place for graduation is nice, but the sports stuff affects kids day-in and day-out.

Your child can row year around at TBC. Many kids on other high school teams do it for summer and fall at a minimum. While JR has allowed the Walls kids on their team there were always questions as to why that was allowed. The crackdown on teams doing that is a good thing. TBC is great and your child will be just fine.

J-R is the only DCPS high school with a crew program - why can't kids who attend other DCPS schools participate? It's not as if those kids are freeloading; they have been part of the team, they have put in the blood, sweat and tears, they have PAID THE SAME FEES. But they attend schools that are much smaller and lack the resources (those boats cost upwards of $60K) to create their own programs. This is not MoCo, where there are multiple large high schools that can each field its own team. This was a really crappy move by the J-R parents who run the crew program.

Dude, read the previous posts. The regional and national crew associations have recently changed their rules to prevent high school teams from building all-star teams comprised of rowers from multiple high schools. So it is a rule change, not "crappy" parents, who are responsible. In general, please make at least a minimal effort to understand a situation before attacking other people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can J-R take this crew opportunity away from SWW kids all of a sudden? Our daughter was counting on going to SWW and starting on the J-R crew team after training all year.

Anonymous wrote:This has been one of my big disappointments with Walls. We knew there wasn't much of a Walls campus, but it is crazy that the swim team commutes to Dunbar for practice everyday when GW has a pool. J-R is pulling up the ladder on having Walls students row on their crew team because of changes in how regattas are defining schools and school districts. So that opportunity is going away. Having a place for graduation is nice, but the sports stuff affects kids day-in and day-out.

Your child can row year around at TBC. Many kids on other high school teams do it for summer and fall at a minimum. While JR has allowed the Walls kids on their team there were always questions as to why that was allowed. The crackdown on teams doing that is a good thing. TBC is great and your child will be just fine.

J-R is the only DCPS high school with a crew program - why can't kids who attend other DCPS schools participate? It's not as if those kids are freeloading; they have been part of the team, they have put in the blood, sweat and tears, they have PAID THE SAME FEES. But they attend schools that are much smaller and lack the resources (those boats cost upwards of $60K) to create their own programs. This is not MoCo, where there are multiple large high schools that can each field its own team. This was a really crappy move by the J-R parents who run the crew program.

Dude, read the previous posts. The regional and national crew associations have recently changed their rules to prevent high school teams from building all-star teams comprised of rowers from multiple high schools. So it is a rule change, not "crappy" parents, who are responsible. In general, please make at least a minimal effort to understand a situation before attacking other people.

+1

I commend these parents for working so hard to maintain this club team. But they also do it so their kids can actually race. The rules now say they can’t race with kids from other high schools. Crew is a really expensive sport, it just will not, nor should it, be supported with DCPS funds. So only a big school can maintain a team.

[Anonymous]

Yet one more reason to move to better schools in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

What happens to the kids already rowing with J-R who are from other DCPS schools? Are they grandfathered in, or are they dropped?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happens to the kids already rowing with J-R who are from other DCPS schools? Are they grandfathered in, or are they dropped?

Dropped. And haven't been able to row in previous regattas due to this rule (Henley last year being one) so this isn't new.

Most of the schools in the DC area have clubs running their crew program. There is absolutely nothing different about the J-R club than any of the public or private schools in the area except that J-R was taking kids from other schools. Sure they were public schools but what difference does that make? There a lot of rowing options for all area kids out of TBC, Bladensburg and Anacostia. Club, public school, private school, etc. Take your pick but don't pick a school based on crew since there is always plenty of options to row.

[Anonymous]

For more experienced parents, how much money do you think it would take to get a crew club up and going from nothing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For more experienced parents, how much money do you think it would take to get a crew club up and going from nothing?

No idea but no reason to either. The river is already packed mornings and after school. Limited rack room due so many clubs around. There is a very healthy boat renting/sharing system around and the same with launches.

Just make sure all your people do Safe Sport due to poorly supervised coaching by some clubs.

[Anonymous]

Is JR dropping other DCPS students from any other sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can J-R take this crew opportunity away from SWW kids all of a sudden? Our daughter was counting on going to SWW and starting on the J-R crew team after training all year.

Anonymous wrote:This has been one of my big disappointments with Walls. We knew there wasn't much of a Walls campus, but it is crazy that the swim team commutes to Dunbar for practice everyday when GW has a pool. J-R is pulling up the ladder on having Walls students row on their crew team because of changes in how regattas are defining schools and school districts. So that opportunity is going away. Having a place for graduation is nice, but the sports stuff affects kids day-in and day-out.

Your child can row year around at TBC. Many kids on other high school teams do it for summer and fall at a minimum. While JR has allowed the Walls kids on their team there were always questions as to why that was allowed. The crackdown on teams doing that is a good thing. TBC is great and your child will be just fine.

J-R is the only DCPS high school with a crew program - why can't kids who attend other DCPS schools participate? It's not as if those kids are freeloading; they have been part of the team, they have put in the blood, sweat and tears, they have PAID THE SAME FEES. But they attend schools that are much smaller and lack the resources (those boats cost upwards of $60K) to create their own programs. This is not MoCo, where there are multiple large high schools that can each field its own team. This was a really crappy move by the J-R parents who run the crew program.

Dude, read the previous posts. The regional and national crew associations have recently changed their rules to prevent high school teams from building all-star teams comprised of rowers from multiple high schools. So it is a rule change, not "crappy" parents, who are responsible. In general, please make at least a minimal effort to understand a situation before attacking other people.

Dude, first of all, some of the regional crew associations still permit mixed boats, so Walls rowers could still race in some events, as they did earlier this spring. Second, the decision by the national association is assuming suburban school districts like MoCo, where multiple schools have crew programs so they could ostensibly create one powerhouse team with ringers from other district schools that would demolish the competition. That is not DC, an urban system made up of (most?) Title 1 schools that lack the resources to support multiple crew programs. The idea that J-R is importing ringers from Walls is ridiculous. Also, let's be real, J-R had been considering cutting out Walls kids for years now; the decision earlier this year by the national association just made it easy.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know if St. John’s has a crew team?

[Anonymous]

I suggest you contact Kip Smith, the Walls athletic director. He is a great guy and will know if it is realistic for Walls to start their own team. He may have other suggestions for you as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know if St. John’s has a crew team?

They do, although I don’t think they have a Varsity 8 boat…they enter 2-person and 4-person events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can J-R take this crew opportunity away from SWW kids all of a sudden? Our daughter was counting on going to SWW and starting on the J-R crew team after training all year.

Anonymous wrote:This has been one of my big disappointments with Walls. We knew there wasn't much of a Walls campus, but it is crazy that the swim team commutes to Dunbar for practice everyday when GW has a pool. J-R is pulling up the ladder on having Walls students row on their crew team because of changes in how regattas are defining schools and school districts. So that opportunity is going away. Having a place for graduation is nice, but the sports stuff affects kids day-in and day-out.

Your child can row year around at TBC. Many kids on other high school teams do it for summer and fall at a minimum. While JR has allowed the Walls kids on their team there were always questions as to why that was allowed. The crackdown on teams doing that is a good thing. TBC is great and your child will be just fine.

J-R is the only DCPS high school with a crew program - why can't kids who attend other DCPS schools participate? It's not as if those kids are freeloading; they have been part of the team, they have put in the blood, sweat and tears, they have PAID THE SAME FEES. But they attend schools that are much smaller and lack the resources (those boats cost upwards of $60K) to create their own programs. This is not MoCo, where there are multiple large high schools that can each field its own team. This was a really crappy move by the J-R parents who run the crew program.

Dude, read the previous posts. The regional and national crew associations have recently changed their rules to prevent high school teams from building all-star teams comprised of rowers from multiple high schools. So it is a rule change, not "crappy" parents, who are responsible. In general, please make at least a minimal effort to understand a situation before attacking other people.

Dude, first of all, some of the regional crew associations still permit mixed boats, so Walls rowers could still race in some events, as they did earlier this spring. Second, the decision by the national association is assuming suburban school districts like MoCo, where multiple schools have crew programs so they could ostensibly create one powerhouse team with ringers from other district schools that would demolish the competition. That is not DC, an urban system made up of (most?) Title 1 schools that lack the resources to support multiple crew programs. The idea that J-R is importing ringers from Walls is ridiculous. Also, let's be real, J-R had been considering cutting out Walls kids for years now; the decision earlier this year by the national association just made it easy.

NP but so what? If JR club wants to cut Walls kids they can cut Walls kids. Walls doesn’t have crew, probably doesn’t have enough kids to support a crew team and doesn’t have enough parent support to start a crew team.