What is the relationship between the Stonington High School Crew Team and the Stonington Community Rowing Center?

The Stonington Community Rowing Center (SCRC) will be home to Stonington High School Crew and a Stonington Community Rowing Club. The club will offer the community programs year-round. Individuals from Stonington, Mystic and surrounding towns can train and/or race under the club banner. Stonington High School students will train and race as Stonington High School Crew Team in the spring. In the fall, winter and summer, team members will row with the club.

What is the relationship between the boathouse park and community rowing center?

The Town of Stonington is responsible for the Mystic River Boathouse Park. It will develop and maintain the property for public use. Sharing the property is the Stonington Community Rowing Center. Friends of Stonington Crew (FOSC) is responsible for building and maintaining the boathouse and operating the community rowing center.

When will the park and boathouse be open to the public?

The Town of Stonington and Friends of Stonington Crew (FOSC) will develop their respective parts of the project in parallel. As the town develops the property for the park, FOSC will build the boathouse. Though projects of this size are very complex and often change, the current plan is to open the park and boathouse at the same time, in the fall of 2019.

Will the boathouse be available to residents and/or the general public? What about the park?

Both are open to the general public. However, individuals will be charged a membership fee to participate in SCRC rowing programs. A storage fee will be charged to individuals who want to keep private rowing shells in the boathouse, too. These fees will help cover operational costs of the rowing center.

What kind of programs will be offered at the community rowing center?

The program offering will grow over time as we add equipment and instructors. In the beginning, we plan to offer adult and junior rowing programs using common equipment. Long term, we will expand to offer adaptive and youth rowing programs.

Will the boathouse be available for public events?

The Hart Perry Boathouse is designed for storing rowing equipment and training athletes. While Stonington Crew and Stonington Community Rowing Center may use the facility for fundraising events, there are no plans to make the boathouse available for public events.

How much parking will be available?

Initial designs determined that parking for 30 cars would be adequate. This would strike the right balance between parking and usable space that the public could use to enjoy the scenery of the Mystic River.