Getting to Know the Niagara Rowing School
To honour the history, dedication and current initiatives of each rowing community, Row Ontario will be producing a series of profiles on member clubs across Ontario. Today we get to know more about the Niagara Rowing School!
Niagara Rowing School
Established: 1999
Location: Vineland, Ont.
http://www.niagararowingschool.com/
Located in a region with a rich history in rowing, the Niagara Rowing School has been operating out of Vineland, Ont. for over 20 years. The club rows out of the Jordan Harbour Conservation Area, which provides plenty of water for the members to row on. The club members primarily use Jordan Harbour as their waterway, which provides about 3500m of calm waters, but they also have direct access to Lake Ontario and can row right under the QEW to get access to the expansive waters of the Great Lake when it’s calm.
While the club has been in operation for approximately two decades, the site of the boathouse has a much longer history than that. Now called the Niagara Rowing School & Paddlesports Centre, the boathouse and grounds used to be called the Campbell Marina, and was owned and operated by the Campbell family, a well-known family name in the Ontario rowing community. The most well-known member of the family was the legendary Neil Campbell, a two-time Olympian who would also go on to have a long and storied coaching career. The Campbell Family operated the marina until work done on the QEW limited the access of bigger boats into the harbour, which severely hindered the business. The province of Ontario purchased the land and then sold it to the Conservation Authority who turned it into the Jordan Harbour Conservation Area. Years later, a group of rowers approached the Conservation Authority with an idea to use the area as a public access point for paddle sports. Eventually the idea turned into the Niagara Rowing School & Paddlesports Centre.
Unlike most Ontario rowing clubs, the Niagara Rowing School is run as a business and is also a multisport club. In addition to rowing, the club features paddle sport activities such as canoeing, kayaking, dragon boating and paddle boarding. The club has a long on-water season and usually stays open until the beginning of December and are back on the water in the late-winter or early-spring once the water has thawed.
“Greg Parker owned the business before me, I purchased it from him five years ago,” said John Murphy, the current President and Owner of the Niagara Rowing School. “He’s always been involved since though and is one of the more active members. We’re a recreation club that’s very flexible. Most people come down here to just enjoy the water and be active. We give people the freedom to come down and go out on the water and do their own thing.”
In terms of rowing at the club, Murphy says they are more of a sculling club although they do have some sweep equipment. They also have a few coastal rowing shells that some members use in rougher conditions and for safety when they water gets cold. They run learn-to-row programs in the spring for adults and in the summer for youths. Most of the clubs rowing members are people who have attended learn-to-row programs in the past, while others are past rowers who come to Jordan Harbour for fitness, physical health and to enjoy the calm waters. The members typically come from the Niagara region, as well as some from the Hamilton and Burlington area.
“Anyone who wants to do some rowing on a quiet body of water as an alternative place to row in the Niagara region is welcome,” said Murphy. “We just want to promote paddle sports and Jordan Harbour. Motorboats aren’t allowed to launch and we’re the only public access point to Jordan Harbour. It’s a great place to enjoy the water.”
Thank you to John Murphy for his generous contributions and help in completing this profile. Photos are property of Niagara Rowing School.
