SHARK Bites

September 11th, 2021 – Arshay Cooper and the greater rowing community of Chicago celebrated the new partnership between A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund (AMBTIF) and Chicago Training Center (CTC), the first of five selected core programs to receive support from AMBTIF and industry partners, HUDSON and Concept2.

The event featured a learn-to-row experience for interested students, the unveiling and christening of new Chicago inspired HUDSON SHARK boats, guest speakers from The Obama Foundation and the WNBA Chicago Sky, live music and special appearances by members of the Manley High School Crew and Chicago Police Department featured in the award winning ‘A Most Beautiful Thing’ documentary film directed by Mary Mazzio.

“AMBTIF is premised on the belief that rowing, when paired with strong academic support, yields very powerful returns. Rowing teaches work ethic, teamwork, and resilience, while also fostering leadership, tenacity, and ambition in its participants” author and documentary film star Arshay Cooper said.

Programs selected by AMBTIF will receive dedicated grants to support (a) coaches of color, (b) transportation, swimming lessons, & academic tutoring, (c) racing in local and regional regattas competing in world class HUDSON SHARK Pair/Doubles and Concept2 Oars and Ergometers. Additionally, the AMBTIF will provide ongoing EDI training to all its partners and feature Arshay along with role model guest athletes to work with each partner city recipient program on athlete school aged recruitment.

The five core programs receiving grants and equipment in Year 1:

• Chicago Training Center (Chicago, IL)
• St Benedict's Preparatory School - Rowing Team (Newark, NJ)
• Baltimore Community Rowing (Baltimore, MD)
• San Miguel Academy - Rowing Team (Newburgh, NY)
• Delta Sculling Center (Stockton, CA)

“We are proud to be partners with an initiative that will positively impact the sport of rowing. We believe in Arshay’s mission which will realize more diverse athletes being represented in our sport,” said Dan Walsh, the industry liaison for HUDSON and Concept2. “HUDSON is proud to present two world class, Chicago inspired, Pair/Doubles to The Chicago Training Centre and the other four core recipient programs in this inaugural year of the AMBTIF.”

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For more information on upcoming AMBTIF events, visit www.arshaycooper.com

#beashark #SHARKvision

HUDSON has signed a four-year sponsorship agreement with USRowing to support its Under 19 National Team through 2024, effective immediately.

 In this partnership, HUDSON will supply racing shells for selection and training domestically with matched shells provided internationally for racing. Through their global network, HUDSON is able to provide world-class service both in the U.S. and abroad.

 “I know I speak on behalf of everyone at HUDSON in saying how excited we are to support the USA’s U19 national team and all of their aspiring high-performance athletes,” Director of HUDSON USA Matt Muffelman said.

 The agreement covers all of the under 19 national team camp boats including the women’s eight, men’s eight, women’s four with coxswain, men’s four with coxswain, women’s quadruple sculls, men’s quadruple sculls, women’s four, and men’s four.  Overseen by USRowing U19 Director and Head Coach Casey Galvanek, Caitlin McClain and Eric Gehrke will serve as the head coaches of the U19 women and U19 men, respectively, through the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, later this summer.

According to Chris Chase, USRowing Director of Youth Rowing, the goal for the junior team is to expand and provide resources to aspiring elite athletes through equipment, coaching and overall accessibility to the sport of rowing.

 “If we have a partner that we can rely on for continued support via equipment and service, it allows us to focus our energy and resources in creating a better overall experience for the aspiring athlete. HUDSON was the optimal choice.”

 Chase said that while there are many aspects to the partnership that will positively influence the growth of future junior programming and development, HUDSON’s recent expansion in the Sarasota area (particularly NBP) played a significant role in the decision.

 “It’s obviously a project and a pursuit that’s near and dear to my heart,” Muffelman said. Muffelman, a HUDSON employee and Sarasota resident, spent a decade training and competing on the USRowing national team.

 “Generation SHARK is upon us. I’m thrilled to see HUDSON moving forward at full speed in the USA,” said Muffelman.

 For more information on junior programming, please visit: www.usrowing.org.

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USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing has 83,000 individual members and 1,350 member organizations, offering rowing programs for all.

JANUARY 20TH, 2021 - Industry leading boat manufacturer HUDSON is pleased to announce a partnership with the USRowing National High-Performance Training Center at OKC and the RIVERSPORT Foundation, to support and enhance the state-of-the-art training facility in Oklahoma City, OK.

“As an Olympian, I know it takes a community to be able to reach the next level in your athletic career,” 2008 Olympic Medalist and HUDSON Central Region Representative Liam Parsons commented. “You need reliable resources, coaching, consistency and support among many other things. To not have to worry about the performance or reliability of your equipment is huge. I’m glad that we can bring this type of support to the athletes currently training in OKC.”

As the current Head Coach and High-Performance Program Director for the USRowing National High-Performance Center, Reilly Dampeer has been supporting elite athletes since 2016. Athletes that have been part of the group that trains in OKC have seen success at the Senior, U23 and U19 World Championships, Pan American Games, and World Cups among notable events.

“OKC has selected HUDSON as the primary boat manufacturer for all RIVERSPORT programming,” Dampeer stated. “The quality and performance of equipment, as well as the superior service from their staff, made this decision easy. We have a strategic plan through LA28 and HUDSON aligns with everything we are hoping to accomplish in the upcoming years.”

In addition to supporting the athletes and coaches at USRowing National High-Performance Center at OKC, HUDSON will play a significant role in general programming that is offered through the RIVERSPORT Foundation Boathouse District. 

“Building a culture for rowing in OKC from the ground up was anchored with the belief that we needed to introduce the sport as a mainstream activity to re-acquaint our city to the river that our city was built upon literally overnight,” said RIVERSPORT Foundation Executive Director Mike Knopp.

“The spirit of innovation is shared between HUDSON and RIVERSPORT and we greatly look forward to this timely partnership given our aggressive and exciting vision for growth of our programming and reach over the next few years.”

HUDSON Atlantic Sales Manager Matt Muffelman is particularly pleased with the continued excitement surrounding rowing in the OKC community. “It’s amazing to look at the growth of rowing in Oklahoma over the past decade and how instrumental Mike and the OKC community have been. The enthusiasm that drives all their programming is contagious. I’m thrilled that HUDSON has this opportunity to further aide in the growth of the sport in the region.”

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For more information about the USRowing National High-Performance Training Center at OKC or the RIVERSPORT Foundation, please visit: https://www.riversportokc.org.

OCTOBER 23rd, 2020 - HUDSON is proud to formally announce their Performance Partnership with Craftsbury’s Green Racing Project.

The Craftsbury Green Racing Project is a year-round, multisport team based out of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center (COC) in Craftsbury, Vermont. In the sport of rowing, the team supports a year-round senior squad as well as seasonal U23 programs. Both of these programs strive to place athletes at the highest levels in the sport, while developing them as members of a sustainable community as well as active individuals that support the mission of the COC.

Currently, coaches Steve Whelpley and Troy Howell oversee a group of 20 male and female athletes, who live and train at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury, VT. Both Whelpley and Howell work to empower these individuals to be the best versions of themselves, on and off the water. ​To date, these efforts have placed athletes on the Senior Worlds’ teams, Pan American Games teams, Senior Training Centers, and U23 Worlds’ teams.

"For us, HUDSON reflects many of our values. We're looking to build unique, creative athletes that still rise to the international standard in their own way” Coach Steve Whelpley states. “HUDSON is at a point now where they are innovating for our sport at the same time as they produce a high-quality product on a day-to-day basis. I look at their USP rigger and finally see a rigger that rivals the integrated use of carbon fiber in many other sports like cycling and sailing."

“No matter what anyone says, at the end of the day it’s all about the athlete,” Atlantic Sales Manager Matt Muffelman says. “We are beyond excited to support the Green Racing Project and the overall development of current and future athletes that look to further their competitive careers at Craftsbury.”

For more information on Craftsbury’s Green Racing Project, please visit: www.greenracingproject.com.