Sparta's new Rowing Club seeks donations Challenge is to raise $5,000 by March 31 to receive matching donation

Sparta - When Sparta's Finn Holovacs started high school as a first-year student, he was determined to start a rowing club. It's not an easy task when attending a high school that doesn't even have oars, much less boats, a vehicle, nor trailer for transport. Undaunted, Finn rowed alone, representing Sparta High School in his first regatta (rowing race) in the spring of 2016. One year later he'd entered several regattas, including in Philadelphia. By that time the Sparta Rowing Club was officially approved by the Board of Education, and even indoor training became possible, thanks to the Sparta Education Fund's (SEF) donation of rowing equipment to the Sparta Special Olympic Team. The Special Olympic atheletes competed in rowing for the first time at CRASH-P's in Princeton, under the guidance of coaches Jennifer Schock, Monical Wall, and Tina Johnson.
By that following spring, the Sparta Rowing Club launched two quads (boats for four) onto Lake Mohawk along Sleep Lagoon Beach, thanks to a donation from the Isak Anderson Memorial Fund, in honor of Isak, a Sparta graduate who died suddenly, but who had expressed interest in rowing, and who felt it was a "life altering experience."
The club's goal is to help other students experience that life altering experience of camaraderie, athleticism, teamwork, and sportsmanship while rowing on a beautiful water ways, in addition to the possiblities of scholarships.
Finn was recruited in the fall of 2018 by Drexel and Temple Universities in Philadelphia. Both universities are Division I NCAA schools. He has decided to commit to rowing for Drexel University in the fall of 2019. His father, Tim, who is experienced in crew, has taken on the role of Sparta Crew Club adviser. Tim remembers Isak fondly, and holds it as important to further Isak's legacy through growing the Sparta Rowing Club, and also would like to help other students experience the joy of the sport that his son, Finn, did. And to do so with matching oars, unlike the mismatched oars Sparta's rowing athletes are currently using. To that end, the Sparta Rowing Club is requesting donations. They're especially key at this time because an anonymous donor has given $5,000 to the club, and has promised to match that amount again, if the Sparta Rowing Club can gain $5,000 additional donations from the public by March 31. So the clock is ticking and the student athletes and their adviser are hoping for doantions to be made via their Go Fund Me Page. Donations are tax deductible, as the club is a 501(c)3 organization. To help the Sparta High School Crew Team get started, make donations to the club's Go Fund Me account by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/4k7knd or U.S. mail checks to; Sussex County Rowing Club, 10 Pine Cone Lane, Sparta, NJ, 07871, or find the Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/SpartaRowing/.
Look for more on the Sparta Rowing Club in upcoming issues of The Sparta Independent.