Crew ensures smooth sailing
SRA volunteers handle safety, food, cleanup at local regattas
SARATOGA SPRINGS — While most of the eyes will be focused between the floating lanes on Fish Creek this weekend during the New York State Scholastic Rowing Association championship regatta, there have been watchful eyes caring for this and every event here for years.
Those eyes belong to the throng of volunteers who come out every regatta, every season to support Saratoga Rowing Association and its athletes to guarantee a top- notch experience for all involved.
According to Katherine Smith, SRA board president and volunteer coordinator, she has the numbers to back up the community effort that gets kudos from racing teams, referees and crew families each year.
“We average 2,100 volunteer hours on a busy regatta weekend with just over 200 volunteers,” Smith said. “Those volunteers are parents of rowers, master rowers, alumni, alumni parents and people in the community willing to be a part of this.”
Smith joined the organization by first becoming a volunteer, then a board member and board president, after signing up her two daughters, current freshman Allesandra Smith and junior Annecy Smith.
“I don’t have tremendous domestic skills, so I was really nervous about being on the food tent crew. So when I was offered a ‘ cushy desk job’ scheduling the marshals, I took it,” Smith said. “Now I get there at 5: 30 in the morning to check out the launches and learned quickly that there are no cushy jobs at a regatta.”
As the volunteer coordi- nator, Smith relies on her nine crew chiefs who oversee each area of the regatta, jumping in when needed with scheduling challenges.
The nine volunteer crews available for parents to participate in are awards and medals, docks, the food tent, start marshals, parking, registra- tion, safety launches, timing and the green team (cleanup).
“When parents sign up their kids to row, there is a volunteer commitment,” Smith said. “Our regattas help keep our dues at a reasonable level.
“We host a parent meeting in the fall when most people start off with new rowers. We talk about the community involvement, and I try to personally make contact with parents and have that one-on-one conversation about the importance of their help.”
Smith said the volunteer commitment is an easy conversation.
“It’s a soft sell, we ask them to come out for a shift or two versus 25 hours on a weekend,” Smith said. “We tell them we need you, bring your skills, work with some great people. Once they come out there for a couple of shifts, they are hooked.”
Smith also is active in other areas of the community; she is currently president of the Saratoga Springs High School PTSO and on the board of the Saratoga Partnership for Prevention.
She said she appreciates the high level of volunteerism within the SRA.
“We have 150 junior families, 140 master rowers and families with almost 50 percent of our families putting in 20-plus hours in over the week- end,” Smith said. “About 90 percent of our families are coming out to help in some capacity. Some of the crew chiefs are working 40 to 50 hours a week during these regattas, especially this season where they worked all three weekends. And then they are back to work at their own jobs Monday morning.”
Smith plans to be at Fish Creek at 5: 30 a. m. today, leading many of the volun- teers on the water and on land at Fish Creek, all with a smile as they watch the races go by.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteer work and never seen such a committed group of people,” she said.