By Elizabeth Hughes
Sports Editor

New to Westford Academy this year is the Westford Academy Crew Club (WACC), a group of students who compete in rowing events. These twenty-one students under Coach Ken Gifford have become a part of a new WA sport, in association with the Westford Recreation Department.

Five times per week, these dedicated rowers run from WA to Forge Pond as a warm-up. For many, this run alone would be considered a workout, but for the crew team this is only the start. After their warm-up run, they row at Forge Pond even through rain and bitterly cold weather.

The crew team worked hard in preparation for their first race, which included two boats of eight rowers, one of boys and one of girls. The race, which occurred in Lowell, took the team about six minutes to row, which, although it may sound like a short amount of time, is certainly not when performing this demanding sports. The team came in last at their race, but say that they had a late start, and are still proud of the team.

This year’s captains are juniors Molly Swan, Katelyn Porter and Joel Kost. They note that being a part of the crew team is really a learning experience for everyone, in regard to both learning how to row and in regard to working as a team.

“Everyone on the team has awesome chemistry together, we get along really great. I think that the team has become a sort of family to one another,” said crew member and WA junior Raelyn Carlyle.

A second season of crew will be offered this fall. Minimal experience is necessary to join crew, but a strong work ethic is a definite requirement. Registration forms and more information can be found online at the WACC website off of the Westford homepage.