Information & Resources for Parents & Guardians of VIRC Junior Rowers

 “Our experience with the junior team has been great. The coaches focus on building the individual and the team and they are so knowledgeable and good at coaching! The kids love the community -- they have a blast!”

SR, parent

Youth Uniforms

Youth rowers and coxswains are required to wear a team unisuit or team t-shirt for competition. The Club provides a team unisuit or team t-shirt to all new youth rowers in their first season. 

Additional required clothing (all rowers)

Rowers must have, at minimum, the following gear available to them at each practice:

  • Water bottle (if metal it must have a sock covering it to prevent boat damage)

  • Long spandex leggings

  • Short spandex bottoms

  • Long sleeve shirt (NO COTTON)

  • Hat (beanie or with a brim)

  • Non-cotton socks (water, wool, merino wool are all encouraged)

  • Crocs or other footwear for beach launching

  • Laced running shoes

  • Polarized Sunglasses

A limited amount of loaner gear (splash jackets, uni suits, and other misc. clothing) is available for novices or others in need of uniform pieces.  There is no cost to borrow these items. Check with your coach at practice.

Coxswains

Coxswains must have, at minimum, the following gear available to them at each practice:

  • Warm hat

  • Brimmed hat

  • Polarized sunglasses

  • Notebook

  • Rain boots or warm waterproof boots

  • 1 - 2 long sleeve base layers (NO COTTON)

  • Synthetic fleece sweatshirt/pullover/quarter zip

  • Warm pants or leggings (NO COTTON)

  • Rain jacket

  • Rain pants

  • Gloves

  • Sweatpants or athletic pants (for land workouts)

  • Spandex shorts or running shorts (for land workouts)

  • Laced running shoes

If any coxswain needs help sourcing layers or needs to borrow layers for a practice or a season reach out to Delany at director@vashoncrew.com

Optional Team Gear

Optional team gear is available on the team store online from 776 which opens for about two weeks at the beginning of each season. Our uniform coordinator will let you know the dates.  Orders can take 4 to 8 weeks to ship. 

More optional team gear, including parent gear, is available from Sew Sporty team name: Vashon Island, password: Vashonrowing (case sensitive). Items ordered from the Sew Sporty Team Store will be shipped directly to you. Some items require a team order. The store is always open.

Family Participation

The success of the VIRC youth program relies on the volunteer efforts by families. The many tasks not only guarantee the smooth running of the program but also give families the opportunity to get to know each other and bond over common experiences and achievements. And it’s fun!

The key contribution parents make is to attend and assist at regattas. These weekend events require help organizing and preparing meals to support hungry athletes and coaches.

 SafeSport Training

USRowing recommends that parents take a free 15-minute online course called “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sports,” administered by the U.S. Center for SafeSport as part of a much larger program to build a sport community where participants can work and learn together free of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and misconduct. More information here.

SafeSport Training

  • Recent U.S. laws require national sports organizations, including USRowing, to implement policies and training programs administered by the U.S. Center for SafeSport to prevent the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of athletes.

    As of January 1, 2022, all VIRC Juniors and Masters rowers are required to take a free online SafeSport training course before they will be allowed to register for any USRowing regattas.

    • Junior rowers who are UNDER 18 are required to complete the 15-minute online course “SafeSport Training for High School Athletes.”

    • Junior rowers who are OVER 18 and all Masters rowers are required to complete the 30-minute “SafeSport Training for Adult Athletes.”

    • Parents of Juniors can take an optional course called “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport.”

    Access to Training Courses

    1. Go to: https://safesporttrained.org/#/dashboard. To set up your SafeSport account, have your USRowing member number handy and click on the Enrollment Key tab.

    2. Select Enrollment Key on the landing page and enter the following key where it says “key name”: NGBUSR-RFKt8f (This will ensure your training is linked to USRowing.)

    3. Fill in the required information to sign up.

    • “Membership ID” = your US Rowing Member ID

    • “Name of Sport or Community Organization'' = Vashon Island Rowing Club.

    • “Role” = Athlete.

    4. Once your info is entered correctly, click the light blue “Sign Up” button at the bottom of the web page.

    5. Select the “SafeSport Training for High School Athletes” or “SafeSport Training for Adult Athletes,” as appropriate.

    Once you have completed your training, your certificate should be saved within the SafeSport training system. You can access it at any time to print your certificate in the future if needed.

    If a rower is not on record as having completed the appropriate SafeSport training, RegattaCentral will not allow your coach to add you to a race lineup. Get trained as soon as possible, so you don’t end up rushing to squeeze the training in at the last minute.

    Optional Parent Training

    SafeSport also offers training for parents that is not required, but highly recommended. It is called “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport” and will take 30 minutes to complete.

    1. To access the parent training, go to: https://safesporttrained.org/#/dashboard

    2. Fill in the required information to sign up. Leave the Member ID section blank and enter Vashon Island Rowing Club as the “Name of Sport or Community Organization”. Select Parent as your “Role”.

    3. Once your info is entered correctly, click the light blue “Sign Up” button at the bottom of the web page.

    4. From the Welcome page, select “Catalog” near the center of the page.

    5. From the Catalog, select “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport” by clicking “Enroll”. From there, you can begin the online training session.

    Thanks for completing your training requirements to keep VIRC a safe place for all athletes. Please email our director and coach Delany Steele if you have any questions.

More Ways Families Can Help 

  • Organize carpools to/from practices & regattas.

  • Manage Lost & Found items at the boathouse

  • Coordinate loaner clothing & purchase distribute team uniforms/gear

  • Fundraising

  • Volunteer services or skills that you want to share!

  • Represent the Youth Team on the VIRC Board of Directors (2 positions)