SARC History

The Saint Andrew Rowing Club was started in 1988 after the Georgia Tech Rowing Team approached John Hunter about using the property at Saint Andrew Catholic Church for a boathouse. Mr. Hunter met with Father Ludden, the pastor at Saint Andrew, and asked if Georgia Tech could build a boathouse on the land by the river. After Father Ludden consulted with the Archdiocese of Atlanta, it was decided that Georgia Tech could use the property as long as they helped start a youth rowing team.

With this understanding Georgia Tech began planning for a new boathouse and the formation of a youth team. The original members of the youth team, about thirty-five strong, named the new rowing club Saint Andrew as a way of saying thank you to the Church for allowing them the use of the property.

Mr. Hunter donated the material for the new boathouse and the labor to build the boathouse was provided by rowers from both teams and parents of the youth team. The boathouse was dedicated in 1990 to Father Ludden in a ceremony attended by members of the Georgia Tech Rowing Team and the Saint Andrew Rowing Club, as well as, parents and representatives of the Archdiocese. Father Ludden was present at the dedication and expressed his delight with the success of the endeavor.

When Saint Andrew started there were very few youth teams in the area so they often competed against collegiate teams. These first teams were very competitive and thought nothing of practicing seven days a week. They frequently brought home medals and managed never to be intimidated by the older collegiate crews.

In late 1990, the parents of the Saint Andrew team decided that the Georgia Tech Rowing Team and the Saint Andrew Rowing Club needed to be independent of one another. A Board of Directors was formed and Joe Lenahan was named the first president. Within the next two rowing seasons the Board put into effect many of the policies that are still in use today. Insurance was purchased, a code of conduct was established for the athletes, and all athletes were required to ride the bus chartered by the club to the regattas.

Over the years a great many athletes have gone through our doors. Many have gone on to row in college and some have gone on to start collegiate teams. Clemson, Emory, University of Georgia, and Georgia State all have teams today because of athletes from Saint Andrew. The club has sent rowers off to college throughout the United States and some of them have gone with partial or full scholarships. Boston College, Boston University, Clemson, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Florida Institute of Technology, George Washinton University, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Jacksonville University, MIT, Northeastern, Penn, Princeton, Syracuse, Trinity, Tulane, University of Georgia, University of Louisville, University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Villanova, and Wellsley College are just a few of the schools that have accepted Saint Andrew athletes.

The agreement with the Church is that as long as we continue to "teach, train, and instill a sense of competition and commitment to the youth of the area" we are welcome to use the Church property. For over ten years we have held to that concept. The Saint Andrew Rowing Club owes its existence to John Hunter, the Saint Andrew Catholic Church, and the effort, time, and money spent by past rowers and parents. With this continued support the club will stay on the road to becoming a respected youth rowing club.