Philadelphia City Rowing

Philadelphia City Rowing, a youth rowing team in Philadelphia, placed tenth out of thirty teams last weekend (July 17th) in the first regatta in the team's short history. What makes this achievement truly remarkable is that two months ago none of these youngsters even knew what rowing, let alone the special place the sport holds in their city's sporting history.

PCR, as it is called, is the brain child of New Hartford native Elizabeth "Libby" Peters. It is a non-profit organization which, according to Peters, aims to "provide (Philadelphia's) inner city youth, who would not normally have the choice, to pursue the sport of rowing and take it as far as they wish, potentially as a means to attend college."

PCR is not the first NPO in Philadelphia to use sports as a way to empower the city's youth; however, it is the first to use rowing, a sport stigmatized by elitism, as the tool for empowerment. While lacking the name recognition of Ryan Howard or Brian Westbrook, Peters is attempting to alter the landscape of Philadelphia sports in comparable fashion.

Libby's inspiration for PCR was borne out of her own love for the sport and despite her many successes on the water her path to PCR has been fraught with tribulation. Peters first discovered the sport in her first year at the Gunnery, a small boarding school in Washington, Connecticut.

A former softball player at New Hartford, Peters took to the sport like...well, a fish to water. She immediately turned heads with her ability and was subsequently recruited by Columbia University (NCAA D1) in Manhattan, where she continued her success.

There, she earned All-American accolades in her junior year and was subsequently named team captain for her senior season in 2006. During her time at Columbia, she was also awarded Most Valuable Rower for two consecutive seasons, and won the World Indoor Rowing Championship in the collegiate lightweight event twice.

Although there are no professional options for collegiate rowers, Peters' career did not end after graduation. She took a one-year hiatus from competitive rowing to return to the Gunnery, where she taught history and was the head coach of the girls rowing team. Under Peters, the team went 24-2 that year and ended up 5th in New England after having never finished in the top twenty.