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Conestoga Crew Kicks Off Fall 2025 Season – The Tradition Continues
From sunrise practices on the Schuylkill to long hours on the erg, Conestoga builds on a legacy of grit, growth, and championship results.
Rowing in Philadelphia is more than just a sport. It’s history. Boathouse Row, with its iconic lights and storied clubs, has produced generations of champions. The University of Pennsylvania and St. Joseph’s University each row out of their own historic boathouses. Temple University calls the East Park Canoe House home. Drexel University rows from Bachelors Barge Club (#8 Boathouse Row), the oldest continuously operated rowing club in the United States, founded in 1853. For over a century, Philadelphia’s boat clubs have produced national team athletes, Olympians, and crews that represent the United States around the world.
Conestoga Crew Club is part of that tradition. Since its founding in 1999, Conestoga has rowed from Bachelors Barge Club, training in the same waters and facilities as college and national team athletes. In just over two decades, Conestoga has made its own mark on the sport. In 2006, the Women’s Varsity Quad won the Bea Langridge Trophy in the quadruple scull event at the Henley Royal Regatta. In 2012, three Conestoga Crew Club boats (Men’s Varsity Quad, Women’s Varsity Quad and Women’s Varsity Double) competed at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. competed on the world stage at Henley.
That tradition of excellence continued in 2024–25. The Conestoga girls captured multiple medals throughout the season, highlighted by the Freshman Quad’s National Championship victory at the SRAA Regatta. The boys also turned in standout performances, collecting podium finishes across the year and capping the season with a top 15 finish from the Mens Youth Double at the USRowing Youth National Championships.
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Rowing at Conestoga isn’t just about high school. It’s a pathway to college opportunities. Alumni of the program have gone on to row at schools like Cornell, Penn, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia, Drexel, Delaware, and Colgate, carrying the lessons of teamwork, discipline, and resilience with them to the next level.
This fall, Conestoga Crew begins a new season with races at Navy Day, the Head of the Charles in Boston, and the Head of the Schuylkill. But the real story of rowing isn’t just what happens on race day. It’s in the early mornings, when the first light breaks over the river and you shoulder a boat down to the dock, breath rising in the crisp autumn air. It’s the creak of an empty boathouse before the city wakes (or goes to sleep), the oars slipping cleanly into still water, the steady rhythm as teammates fall into swing. These are the quiet, unseen moments, cold hands, calloused palms, the echo of footsteps on the dock, where foundations are laid and victories are born long before race day.
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Now in her second season leading Conestoga Crew, Coach Bailey Chick brings nearly a decade of coaching experience, including six years as Head Coach at North Allegheny Rowing Association and four summers with Penn AC Gold.
"I’m so excited to be back together as a team, to build upon the momentum of last season. So many of our athletes had really amazing insight and goals for themselves and each other in our end of season discussions, and I know they’ve put in alot of work independently this summer. This year we’re talking about spring racing from day one even more deliberately than we did last year- how every workout and decision builds toward those goals we have for this team, I’m so excited to to start building toward those achievements now," said Coach Chick
A Temple rowing alum, Coach Chick has guided crews to national podiums and championship titles. At Conestoga, she is focused on fostering a competitive yet compassionate environment that helps athletes grow both on and off the water.
Conestoga Crew enters 2025 riding the momentum of last year’s successes, from a national title to breakthrough performances, and now the focus is on writing the next chapter. With new athletes stepping in, veterans setting higher goals, and regattas ahead on some of rowing’s most iconic waters, everything is in place for an exciting season of growth, competition, and possibility.
From the Schuylkill to the Charles — the tradition continues.
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