Mercy Crew Inc. is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote the sport of rowing and to provide equipment and resources to Mercy Crew team. The athletes are young women attending Our Lady of Mercy High School in grades 7-12. The team was founded in 2005 and as interest in the sport of rowing has grown so has the team. We currently have approximately 30 girls actively involved in this sport making it one of the largest teams at Mercy. The sport is considered a varsity level sport at Mercy.
Mercy Crew Inc. is a parent run organization that facilitates the day to day operations of the program. We also negotiate with Genesee Waterways Center for use of the boathouse. Team members and parents raise funds needed for the athletes’ equipment, coaching, competitions, and travel.
The Board coordinates activities between Mercy hospitality, Mercy High and the Mercy coaches. The board collects rowers’ fees, pays the bills and organizes fund raising.
Members of the board are voted upon at the Spring Board of Directors’ meeting after a ballot by Mercy Crew parents that recommends new members to the board. Board members stagger 2 year positions as outlined in the bylaws. The board chooses four officers for 1 year terms to fill the roles of President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
Mercy Hospitality and Logistics: coordinates rower registration, makes regatta travel plans, organizes daily transportation to practice, provides volunteer launch drivers, schedules land parents to watch the boat house, and organizes the end of season banquets. It maintains the website for communications.
Members of the Support Staff hold the following positions and are recruited among interested parents:
Registrar, Communications, Driving Coordinator, Land Parent Coordinator, Travel Coordinator, Uniforms and Fanwear Contact, Hospitality Committee, Web site manager
Our Lady of Mercy High School is our sponsoring organization. We run a scholastic program, meaning all of our athletes are members of the school. This is opposed to club teams such as Brighton, Pittsford, and Fairport. They row under the names of towns and rowers come from many other schools. At States and Nationals we compete at different levels.
The Mercy Athletic Director and represents the school in discussions with Mercy Crew Inc. and GWC. The school has responsibility for the coaches. Any disagreement with coaches or concerns about coaches’ behavior or activities is resolved through the A.D.