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Lake Purdy is a perfect spot for rowers to practice, but Birmingham doesn’t have a youth rowing team. Downtown Birmingham resident Lara Embry sought to change this with the creation of the new program, Birmingham Area Youth Rowing, or BAYR. 

According to Embry, the lake is “gorgeous, and has very little recreational boating.” Although it isn’t a river, which is commonly used for rowing practices and races in other cities, it’s an expansive body of flat water.

“And here, we’re sitting here in Birmingham, the largest population in the state, and we don’t have a rowing program,” she said. “To me, it just made sense.”

Embry first entered the rowing scene when she attended Smith College in Massachusetts. Although she had never heard of the sport while growing up in Alabama, she found a love for it and pursued the sport. “I learned rowing was how you got on the water,” she said. 

She later moved to Florida, where she started rowing with kids as an adult, and helped coach the junior’s program. When she finally returned to Alabama, she found an adult rowing program but nothing for potential younger rowers. So, she made her own.

“I was partly inspired by wanting a place for my kids to row,” she said. “But even more than that, this is a sport that has more scholarships than rowers.” In fact, after being operational for about a year, BAYR has already had college recruiters reach out.

“The SEC has exploded with rowing programs over the past 10 years,” she said, which is partly because the sport is a Title IX offset program.

And often times, rowers haven’t been practicing since elementary school unlike many other athletes for collegiate or professional teams — this is a sport that can be picked up in middle school or high school. 

Embry said middle school is typically the earliest a rower may start, partly because they have to know how to swim and be responsible around boats and partly because they have to meet a height limitation.

“Rowing is essentially lifting weights fast while sitting on your butt and going backwards … over and over again,” she said. She described the rowers as a human lever system, acting as one to propel the boat. “[The rowers] have to be at least 5’ 1”, 5’ 2”, to reach … Now, it’s like this is a whole sport where most everybody’s entry point is freshman year in high school.”

Right now, Coach Veronica Wilson said the program is divided into recreational, intermediate or competitive groups, although they are looking to restructure into a middle school and high school format. The middle school program would be open to beginner and younger rowers as a way to learn boat handling and basic rowing skills, while the high school level would be the more competitive program. 

Typically, athletes use the fall as a way to build endurance and compete in longer events and later compete in sprints in the spring. And, all rowing is done in either a sweeping or sculling format.

When sweeping, rowers only utilize one oar each. Embry said there is a slight difference as to how the athletes may hold themselves because they can favor one side, and rowers can compete in a pair, four- or eight-person team. 

Sculling is similar to sweeping but involves two oars moving together, which helps the athletes develop a sense of balance and build their muscles more symmetrically, Embry said. This is what much of the BAYR program focuses on. Sculling can be done in singles, doubles or quads, all of which are available for practice and racing depending on the number of athletes available.

“The goal for our rec program is to have them figure out how to take a proper stroke,” Wilson said. “Once we’re out on the water, it’s just trying to make sure everyone has a lot of fun.” When the athletes have progressed enough, they can race in competitions in nearby cities such as Chattanooga or Huntsville.

Lucy Wilks and Abby Kennedy, students at Oak Mountain Middle School, entered the program without any previous rowing experience. Both prefer to row in singles because it’s less stressful and less pressure from other teammates to push through being tired.

“I saw signs on the street and I just thought it was cool,” Abby said about her start. After both athletes have competed in different sports, they found a new love for rowing.

“It’s kind of different [from other sports] to where it takes a lot of effort to do it,” Lucy said. “When the wind is coming, you have to use both your legs and your arms, and you have to power through.”

Even though rowing can be very challenging, they are hoping for program to grow and include more local rowers. 

“I would like this program to ... have a stable base of families that are invested and excited about the program,” Embry said. Although a common misconception is that crew is an elite sport, she said that is quickly changing as it is spreading to communities all over the country. Eventually, Embry said it would be great to see local schools entering the rowing world as well. 

“There’s a whole league of scholastic rowing and club rowing,” she said. “I would certainly love it if there were more teams, and I think there will be because more and more people are getting familiar with it. And you can’t ignore the scholarship opportunities.”

For more information about BAYR, visit bhamyouthrowing.org.