Who We Are

WYRA, (pronounced WHY-rah), is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit organization that offers a variety of recreational and competitive rowing programs to youngsters from Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Our 17,000sq. ft boathouse, also home to the University of Delaware crew, is located at 500 E. Front St. on the Christina River, a block and a half past the Wilmington Train Station and only minutes from I-95 and I-495.

WYRA uses the sport of rowing to teach responsibility, self-discipline, sportsmanship, and teamwork as a means of helping youth raise their self-esteem and to prepare them to withstand the pressures facing youth today.

WYRA offers competitive crew in the fall and spring; winter conditioning in our weight room, indoor rowing tanks, and our ergometer room for those participating in fall and/or spring crew; summer rowing camps; and WYPERS, recreational rowing for adults during the summer - all at the WYRA boathouse.

History

WYRA began as part of the Wilmington Rowing Club in 1989 and incorporated as the Wilmington Youth Rowing Association in 1994. In 1993 Row-For-It!™, WYRA's summer community rowing camps, began. For several years WYRA's "boathouse" was a small shed and orange trailer filled with used shells in the Wilmington Rowing Club's driveway

In 1998 WYRA found a new home in an old Pusey and Jones Machine Shop on the Christina River at Front and Lombard Sts. Thanks to the tremendous support from local foundations, companies, the Riverfront Development Corp., the City of Wilmington, and many individuals we were able to purchase and renovate the 17000 sq. ft. building. Though our second floor is still not complete we moved into our new boathouse in 1999.

Racing

WYRA crews compete in fall "head" races (long 2.5-3.5 races against the clock), winter indoor ergometer races, and traditional sprint (1500m-2000m) races in the spring.

WYRA crews have competed in the Head of the Charles in Boston, The Head of the Schuylkill, the Bill Braxton Memorial and Navy Day regattas in Philadelphia, races at St. Andrew's in Middletown, DE, the Race Around Wye Island in Maryland, the Mother's Day Regatta in Boston, the Cape Cod Regatta, the Princeton International Regatta, Upper Merion Regatta, the Pittsburgh Scholastics, the Southeastern Junior Championships in Lake Lanier, GA, the Northeast Junior Regional Championship in Connecticut, and the USRowing Invitational Youth Championships in Cinncinnati, OH.

This June (2003) WYRA's girl's varsity eight competed at the Reading Regatta in Reading, England and the Women's Henley Regatta in Henley, England. (See photos).

WYRA crews have won the overall point trophy as well as medaled at many of the above regattas.