Peachtree City Rowing, a metro Atlanta year-round rowing organization, recently competed in the Southeast Rowing Regionals in Sarasota, Florida. The team achieved an unprecedented multiple boat advancement to the US Rowing Nationals June 9th-12th in Sarasota, which attracts over 2000 athletes from across the country.
Head Coach Brandon Tucker joined Peachtree City Rowing in early 2022 and quickly moved the organization toward a championship mindset. New training methods and performance criteria have brought the club more in line with the types of teams Brandon and his wife, Becca, are accustomed to leading. “We moved here from New Jersey. We’re a rowing family. She rowed in college and I was a coxswain. We later began coaching youth and college levels," said Brandon. “Peachtree City Rowing is a fairly new club that began in 2015. When we got here, we immediately recognized the opportunity to grow a championship-level rowing club. We see it as an area where we can not only develop athletes but also engage in a strong, close-knit community that could support rowing as a way to give kids in the area opportunities."
Coach Becca shares, “Brandon’s passion for rowing is unmatched. He was born with a rare heart defect and has had multiple open-heart surgeries, with his first at two days old. Because of his heart, he couldn’t meet the competitive demands of rowing, but that didn’t stop him. He became a coxswain, arguably, the most valuable position in a boat and certainly the most misunderstood. Once a crew has exhausted all physical, mental and technical preparedness, the coxswain can be the sole difference between winning and losing races. Brandon embodies what it takes to make that difference. We live and breathe rowing. His greatest accomplishment in life, after his children, will be his athletes. Everything he does is for them.”
Coach Tucker says, “Because we are a nonprofit and the club is fairly new, our kids are working with a lot of outdated equipment and they train inside a tent. Progress on improvements has been sporadic and limited.”
The team held a fundraising raffle in December and had been saving to build a boathouse, but rising material costs pushed it back. Commonly in the rowing world, teams have boathouses and boats sponsored by community members and businesses. That’s why you see a lot of boats with names of businesses, individuals, legacy boats, medical, legal groups, etc. It not only provides advertising but demonstrates community involvement.
“It’s been a great start to 2022! The performance of the team this season and at Regionals demonstrates remarkable determination and focus by all of our athletes. We are on the national rowing map!”
For more information or if you are interested in sponsorship please email coachtucker.rowptc@gmail.com or visit www.ptcrowing.org.
