WBC has always been a proud partner with JCC Parks & Recreation in offering recreational opportunities on the water, but current facilities and water access are not adequate for serving growing clean, recreational use of the community's invaluable waterfront resource.

Though WBC has enjoyed great success in building community rowing both on the water and off, the lack of indoor teaching and training facilities, protected boat and equipment storage, and limited workshop space, has limited our ability to extend comprehensive programs and services to the community.  As our program has grown, traffic flow and parking have become challenging, and there is a need for public sanitation facilities along with outdoor safety lighting.

The initial phase of development, improving traffic flow and parking, will be completed in Spring of 2020.  Public trailer and boat storage will be moved from behind the current boathouse to another more secluded part of the Park.  Traffic to the boathouse will be re-routed into the vacated space that already has a gravel turnaround circle (perfect for child drop-offs) and with additional space for parking. 

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The current boathouse facility has neither the space or capabilities needed for supporting the growing needs of the Club or greater community. The completed rowing center will fulfill multiple needs for WBC and the community:

• Expand capacity for offering rowing programs and support our commitment to making the positive physical, psychological, social and sporting impact of rowing accessible to all, including those with disabilities.

• Provide a base for the 100,000+ residents of the surrounding community to learn more about the sport, and a year-round location for activities both on the water and off for rowing, fitness, and for other small boat programs.

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• Build a safe, sheltered storage facility for WBC’s expanding fleet of shells, equipment to extend use and provide better maintenance for keeping the fleet on the water.

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• Provide indoor shelter and training during unexpected weather during Youth practices, and an affordable winter training option to private gyms or personal training. The indoor facility provides a more acceptable teaching option for learn to row and adaptive rowing programs.

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• Create the environment for larger rowing events or other sporting events (triathlons), attracting both local and regional rowers and other athletes.

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Team planning, education sessions, coaches and team meetings, and boat maintenance take place outdoors, all subject to our area's fast-changing weather conditions.  Team exercise and conditioning, an important part of every Youth practice, is subject to those same weather challenges.  More importantly, when those unpredictable storms force our Youth program off the water, we need a safe shelter and training option until pick-up time.

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The Rowing Center will not only ensure WBC can extend programs and increase the number and diversity of rowers we serve in the coming years, but will also enable the Club to support multi-purpose use of the waterfront, offering small boat classes and Youth camps and supporting greater public use of the Chickahominy Riverfront Park resource. 

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We hope you will join us and the dozens of supporters who have already made generous contributions towards the completion of the WBC Rowing Center.