
HINGHAM HIGH CREW

PARENTS: Things To Know







Practices
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Water practices are at the Hingham Maritime Center (HMC). Please DO NOT drop off/pick up your athlete at the HMC parking lot. All parking, dropping off and picking up of athletes must use the Hingham Bathing Beach parking lot. Athletes should leave enough time to walk over to HMC and prepare with the appropriate gear before the practice start time. (At the beginning of the season and on bad weather days (see below), practices are held at the Light Plant.
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Attendance & Missing Practice
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Attendance to all practices is required. Rowing is the ultimate team sport; every athlete is needed to go out on the water. Should your athlete need to miss practice, it is the athlete's responsibility to let their coaches know. Unexcused absences are unacceptable. Known absences should be communicated by the athlete to the coach as soon as they know about them and documented on the Weekly Google Form.
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A parent email to the coach is required for the athlete to return to practice. If sick or injured for more than three practices, a doctor's note is required as well.
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Weekly Google Forms
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In efforts to help coaches plan practices for the week, a Weekly Google Form will be sent out on Fridays to all athletes in the BAND app. Athletes should be talking to their parent or guardian about the upcoming week before completing the form; this helps athletes communicate absences or reasons for potentially being late. Forms must only be submitted once and are due that Sunday at noon. If a form is not submitted, that athlete risks not being put in a lineup.
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Inclement Weather
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On the days we are unable to be on the water due to high winds, stormy weather or low tide, practices will be moved to the Light Plant. Coaches will provide as much time as possible when communicated changes in practice time and location. Announcements will go out to parents over the GroupMe app and to athletes via the BAND app. We will follow the back-to-back schedule: Boys 3:30-5:15 / Girls 5:00-6:45pm.
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Communication
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All parent / coach communications will be via the GroupMe app, or emailed newsletter. Please download it and watch for the newsletter at the top of the season with the invite link. Or, scan this QR code with your phone to join!
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All athlete / coach communications will be via the BAND app. Athletes will receive the invite link at the beginning of the season.
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Line of Communication with Coaches should go as follows:
1) Student-athlete speaks with their coach directly, either during "safe talk time" or a scheduled time with their coach.
2) If the athlete to coach conversation has not resolved their concerns, we encourage parents to then speak directly with the coach. Parents may email the coach to set up an appointment to talk about concerns.
3) If the parent to coach meeting does not resolve the issue, we encourage parents to then contact the HHS Athletics Director, Jim Quatromoni, to set up an appointment to discuss the situation.
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*This policy is in accordance with the Hingham High School Handbook.
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Regatta Day & Etiquette
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Races, or regattas, are generally long days. They can be cold and rainy, or sunny and hot. Athletes are expected to travel with their team via bus to and from all regattas to maintain the team unity and mindset. Athletes are often also expected to return to HMC upon arrival back in Hingham to unload the trailer and rig their boats so they don't use up valuable practice time the following week.
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The moment athletes step foot off the bus at the regatta location, they are in race mode. After putting their bags down, they must unload the trailer, rig their boats, carry oars to the waterfront, and meet with their coaches. Athletes are not permitted to head to the Hospitality Tent until released by their coach. Parents should avoid the athlete area until their athlete has finished racing. Parent conversations with coaches should also be saved until racing has finished. Lastly, professional presentation and good sportsmanship - always!
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Food Asks for Hospitality
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In an attempt to accommodate shopping schedules, we ask for food items for every regatta and simplify asks by team and boat. (For example, each girl in the novice boat is asked to bring a half dozen pre-sliced bagels.) Hospitality has no storage, so items are needed to be brought each week. Athletes simply bring their corresponding item to the Hospitality Car in front of the school before they get on the buses.
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M O R E B E L O W!



Parent Volunteering
Parent Volunteering is critical to the success and survival of our team. As a reminder, HHSRA operates as a 501(c)3 program receiving no financial support from Hingham Public Schools. Instead, our program relies entirely on parent volunteers and fundraising efforts. Your involvement is critical to keep the team afloat; without volunteers, we are not able to operate the program. Volunteering is also a great way to meet our wonderful community!
There are three areas where we need the most help:
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Hospitality Team — Fuel our rowers! Help feed our athletes during all-day regattas: 100+ rowers x 2 meals = a lot of help needed serving up over 200+ meals! We ask volunteers to sign up for one full day regatta each season from setup, serving, to cleanup (10 volunteers needed per event). We also need help with weekly shopping, trailer restocking, and planning the end-of-season banquet. Each family is encouraged to volunteer at least once per season — it's a great way to support the team and meet other parents!
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Fundraising / Sponsorship — As a volunteer you would be helping organize and run events to help us secure funding. We do not receive funding from HHS, so need to raise around $100,000 each year to repair and upgrade equipment, provide extra coaching staff as the team grows, etc. This volunteer opportunity also involves helping with spring/summer fundraisers and adding sponsors.
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Trailer Team — Each season, the team needs help hauling coaches launches (power boats) to HMC and the Light Plant, and with hauling the hospitality trailer to and from regattas. All you need is a vehicle with a trailer hitch! We are also actively looking for a parent to haul our racing shell trailer to and from regattas, as our current drivers will be graduating out this year! If you are interested in learning more about towing the shell trailer, please email president@hinghamhighcrew.com
Equipment Maintenance Team — HHSRA has a large fleet of ergs, shells, launches... you name it! Help us keep it all in top shape to maximize our rowers' time on the water and on the best possible equipment at the Light Plant. It's a hands-on way to support the team and learn more about the equipment we rely on to run a successful program! And if you're not sure how to do something, we will be happy to teach you!​
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