Open House:

As part of CBC Sports Day in Canada (http://sportsday.cbc.ca/event/8539), the boathouse is completely open to the general public — and it’s absolutely free for anyone to try out the sport of rowing for the first time!

10:00 am- 6:00 pm: Rowing has a proud and revered history in Newfoundland and Labrador, and this is your opportunity to get in the boat and take a stroke in the water for the first time, or to show friends and family what everyone’s been talking about.

Mid-afternoon: For all fixed-seat rowers and coxswains wishing to become more versed on the slide-seat technique that’s been fused into the Regatta and used by the top crews in recent years, a coaching clinic will be offered at the boathouse by nationally certified coaches. (For more information on details, schedule and any other questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail organizers at contact@sjrc.ca).

While the coaching clinic and rowing opportunities will be available at no cost, donations on behalf of the fundraiser (details below) will be gladly accepted.

There’s also going to be:
- An afternoon barbeque, with proceeds going to the fundraiser
- Free tours of the boathouse and Regatta museum given by knowledgeable members of the Regatta Committee
- Chance to chat with nationally certified coaches and elite rowers about exciting opportunities that exist for you in the sport of rowing.

Row-A-Thon:

6:00 am – 8:00 pm: The St. John’s Rowing Club, in partnerhip with the Children’s Wish Foundation, will have its athletes rowing continuously throughout the 14-hour day to raise funds for a three-year-old sponsor child, Shanea, and for upgrades to its boats and equipment.

Charitable tax receipts will be issued for donations over $20.

Finally, the top crews from the Royal St. John’s Regatta, including the men’s and women’s champions, along with the runners-up in the championship races, are expected to be rowing in the fixed-seat Regatta shells as part of the Row-A-Thon.

Children’s Wish Foundation

On September 16, 2011, teams will compete in Exile Island, a fundraising event for the Children’s Wish Foundation. Each of the teams will be banished to Exile Island (Bell Island), where they are given no comforts of every-day life, such as drinks, food or communication devices. Throughout the day they will compete to Outsmart, Outplay and Outpledge the other teams. Each of the teams have a fundraising goal of at least $10,000, which is the average cost of granting a child’s wish.

The St. John’s Rowing Club is participating in this event to raise funds for one very special child, Shanea.

Shanea, age 3, has been diagnosed with OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA.

Wish: My wish is to go to Disneyworld with my mom, dad and big sister. I would also love for my sister and me to be a princess for a day, put on makeup and get our nails done.
Health: I am a little girl, who, as my sister says, has sick bones. My bones are very brittle and break very easily. So far, I have had 30 plus fractures.

Favorites: I love SpongeBob SquarePants and am really hoping to see him. My mom says that I am not a girlie girl because I love to play with trucks and play ball. My favorite TV shows are Dora, SpongeBob, Spiderman, Elmo, Mickey Mouse and I also love watching iCarly with my big sister. I love to eat meatballs, pizza and I love bananas and pudding.

Family: My mom’s name is Janelle and she tells me that I am mamma’s dolly. My dad’s name is Tony and let’s just say that I am daddy’s little girl (“one of two”, my dad says). I have him wrapped around my little finger. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful big sister. Her name is Kaylee and she is super good to me. She plays with me, watches TV with me, and reads to me. Every night before bed she always gives me a kiss goodnight. big sister. I love to eat meatballs, pizza and I love bananas and pudding.

More information on Exile Island, Shanea and the other Wish Children can be found at
www.exileisland.ca/region/nfl-st-johns/home or by contacting the Children’s Wish Foundation at 709-739-9474.

Donation Information

For more information on this Row-A-Thon, or how to donate, please contact Andrew Orsborn at contact@sjrc.ca or 709-691-4444.
For donations received of $20 or over, there will be a tax receipt issued. To maximize the tax benefit and to ensure proceeds are allocated evenly between the two organizations, a tax receipt may be issued by only one or both organizations for the donation.

In addition to individual pledges, there are opportunities to “Sponsor an Hour.” For $200, sponsors will have their logos included on a master schedule to be prominently displayed at the Row-A-Thon site and on-line at www.sjrc.ca. In addition, the Hourly Sponsor will be announced periodically throughout the hour. A tax receipt of $150 will be made available. For more information, please contact Andrew Orsborn at the email listed above.

All members of the Exile Island Team, the Children’s Wish Foundation and the St. John’s Rowing Club would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of this very worthwhile event. Your generous donations will help bring a child’s wish true and help the St. John’s Rowing Club continue to offer its community service programs.