Competitive rowing is possibly the United States’ oldest sport tradition. It began as races between oarsmen in New York. These were professionals who would taxi goods and passengers across the East and Hudson rivers. The faster they were, the more fees they could collect in a day. Naturally, improvised competition turned to organized races.

Since 1979, Los Gatos Rowing Club (LGRC) has continued this America tradition in the South Bay. LGRC’s robust program schedule includes events for juniors (13-18) and masters (18-70-plus), with close to 300 members from all over the South Bay on the roster. The club regularly earns podium spots in the Western region and medals on the national level. With members representing the United States at World Championships and the Olympics, LGRC has reason to boast.

The club prides itself on attracting junior members from all over the South Bay and sculpting them into one cohesive, winning unit. While competition is an obvious focus for the club, college-prep and scholastic realities are not too far behind.

As LGRC Vice President Hilary Williams explains, “Historically, almost 100 percent of our graduating high school rowers go on to a four-year university, with many of them receiving scholarships.”

LGRC alumni have been recruited to row at Princeton, Harvard, Yale, University of Washington, Cal, Boston University, Michigan, Virginia, MIT, UCLA, UC-San Diego and USD.

The juniors develop their prowess under the watchful eye of Jamie Velez, who returned to his South Bay roots in 2008 after coaching in Philadelphia. Jamie also shares his expertise with the roughly 120 master members. Both juniors and masters participate in 15 races which are held locally and as far as Portland and Boston.

Beyond their regular training schedule, Hilary reveals, “We are active in a variety of outreach activities, offering programs for autistic young adults, economically disadvantaged youth, sight-impaired adults and breast-cancer survivors. The club is also active in the local community, providing hands-on support for Los Gatos’s Jazz in the Plazz summer concert program and no-cost Taste of Rowing programs for the County. We also offer corporate team-building rowing programs for Silicon Valley companies.”

With their permanent home located on the shore of Lexington Reservoir, LGRC is easy to get to and their program schedule has something for everyone.