November 2025 Newsletter
November 2025 Berkshire Community Rowing Newsletter
President’s Message:
It has been a fantastic On-Water season at BCR. This Fall in particular has seen some beautiful water and low wind and fog. Now we’re done for another year and it’s time to move into our winter season at the Y. We’re looking to add some yoga to this winter’s program – fingers crossed..
If you haven’t signed up yet, you can find the offering at:
https://www.regattacentral.com > Programs & Classes.
Boathouse Closing – November 1st, 8 am – 11am
We need lots of help to clean-up and close the boathouse for the season on Saturday, November 1st. Please come and assist as you are able, thanks in advance for your help!!
Save the Date! Year-End Potluck – November 8, Fellowship Hall, Lenox,
November 8 will be our potluck wrap-up banquet. It will be held at Fellowship Hall in Lenox; best guess is 5:30 to about 8 pm. We will be handing out various awards and will have a very interesting presentation (we think). It’s been a very transformative year for the club and we want to keep the positive momentum. Please mark your calendar and we’ll fill in the blanks very soon.
-Coaches Randy, Ted, Jon, and Don.
Erg Raffle – get your tickets by November 8th!
Our Erg Giveaway is rolling, and trust us, you don’t want to miss out on this one. Every donation gets us closer to giving away a new Concept2 Model D Erg, and reaching our goal of raising $3,000. Here’s the link to get in on this: BCR on PayPal
How It Works:
For every $25 dollar incremental donation made to the club between now and November 8, we will enter your name in the erg hat. When your lucky name gets pulled from the hat you will get a brand new Concept2 Model D erg (value $1,100) shipped to you at no charge, anywhere in the continental US!
Rules of the Game:
1. Trustees can’t participate.
2. We need to collect at least $1,500 in donations to make it financially possible for the club to buy you the erg. If we don’t meet that threshold, we will do a 50/50 split with you when you win!
3. We’re capping contributions for this giveaway at $3,000. That’s 120 chances at a new erg! Very good odds. Tell your friends across the country; let’s meet that $3,000 cap!
4. The game runs till our end-of-season potluck on Saturday November 8th. The drawing will be held at the potluck.
Regatta Updates:
● Jack Row Lantern – Holyoke, October 25
Another fine day of racing…in fact one of the finest. We had sixteen participants, and it was non-stop from the start; finishing one race and the crew piles out of the boat and the next crew piles in.
Special shout out to Catherine, who did it three times: with her doubles partner, Averill; in the high school quad with Robyn, Japer, and Averill; and with her mom, Giovanna, in the Parent/Child race (which they won!). Busy, busy!
Also a special mention to Sean and Ben, who beat their competition by 50 seconds, and it was Sean’s first race! Ben set a blistering pace and the two of them just tore it up. It was also Tina’s first race, the first for Lisa with BRASS, and the second race for Jasper and Jae…YAY! Sixteen rowers this year; next year’s goal: four more masters; four more juniors. Twenty-Four to Score!
● Head of the Fish, Saratoga, October 26
On Sunday at Head of the Fish, it was the usual circus . . . and circuses are fun. We only had two entries this year, just to give them a taste. Both boats did well; the boys beat three other crews, the girls thirteen others. Now they know what to expect next year and it’s going to be great!
Loren Paduano, Dockmaster
The club would like to acknowledge and thank our Dockmaster, Loren Paduano, for his nine years of keeping things running smoothly on the waterfront and in the boathouse. His commitment to safety and dock assistance is greatly appreciated by all! We look forward to seeing him back at the boathouse in the spring!
BCR Committee Updates
Many of you signed up to be a member of a committee at the Annual Meeting back in April. Please contact us at info@berkshirerowing.com to tell us what committee you want to serve on, or to see a list of committee names and functions. We’re finally ready to activate more committees! Thank you.
BRASS Merchandise:
Have you been looking for BCR merchandise? Would you like to get a jump on your holiday shopping? You’re in luck, we’re selling BCR items at a discounted price. Click on this link to see the sale pricing of the inventory available.
Contact Tina Whitmore (freiafibers@gmail.com) to receive the items you’d like to purchase. Check payable to BRASS, PO Box 787, Pittsfield MA 01202 or make your payment by Venmo to @BerkshireRowing.
Photo Contest:
Submit your best pictures or videos or a quick story of what happened on your row celebrating BCR, and you’ll win a prize. Submissions due by November 20th
Best Resource Ever!
You can always find the most up-to-date information on the club’s activities by visiting BCR’s website, berkshirecommunityrowing.org.
Come Row with Us!
Editors: The Marketing & Communications Committee