is a not-for-profit membership organization whose purposes are to:
Encourage the growth of, and participation in, rowing and paddling sports. Educate and inform the public about the environment of the Hudson River and the importance of its protection for present and future generations. Encourage use of safety skills and procedures in rowing and paddling sports in particular, and in water sports in
general. Provide sites for storage of boats and the conduct of rowing and paddling programs, and
Publicize, organize and conduct rowing and paddling events of all types, including, but not limited to competitive events. Organizational History:
YPRC is the successor to the Yonkers Canoe Club, which was founded in 1886, and incorporated in 1888. The boat house was initially located at the Haberstraw site, on the top floor of a railroad company building just north of the present location. The first members were a mix of local Yonkers boys and older members of the Yonkers professional community. According to veteran member and Olympic gold medalist, Steve Lysak, the boat club eventually moved to its present day location in 1938. Executing a design by Architect H. Lansing Quick, a founder of the club, members moved the building plank by plank to its present site, adjacent to what is now a new Westchester County park. Each member had to contribute a barrel filled with stones to create footings for the clubhouse. The club has had a proud history of competition on the local, regional, national and international levels. Until the 1980's it had active racing members. The YCC also ran youth programs to train young people affiliated with local schools and scouting troops how to use small boats such as canoes and kayaks safely, and how to race in them. On the level of National and international competition, the YCC has had an extensive track record. Until 1936 Olympic Flatwater Kayaking and Canoeing was an exhibition sport only. In 1936, the first year that it was an olympic event, the YCC sent John Lysak and Jim O'Rourke Sr. to compete in the 10,000 meter K-2. The Club has won 14 National Championships, the last being in 1958. During its years of supremacy, the Yonkers Canoe Club was national champion from 1937-1940 and 1955-1958. Since 1936, members of the Yonkers Canoe Club have competed in six Olympic Games. In 1948 Steve Lysak and Steve Macknowski took the gold medal in the 10,000 meter, two-man singles and a silver medal in the 1,000 meter two-man singles. James O'Rourke Jr. also competed in the 1966 World Championships in the C-1 event. In the nineteen sixties and seventies, the YCC's members included several strong women kayaking competitors, many of whom had grown up at the boathouse following in their father's footsteps. YCC women took gold medals at the National championships in 1968 and 1972, and in 1970, Nancy Kalafus represented the USA at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reflecting the increasing interest in environmental activism and recreational kayaking, the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club grew out the Yonkers Canoe Club and is carrying on its glorious traditions. Started in 1999, it already has a roster of over 150 members. The Hudson River is once again bustling with small boats. Organizational Programs:
Membership is open to the public, youth and adult, without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, disability or sexual preference. YPRC's Boat House, which provides, canoe and kayak storage and public access to the Hudson River, is located on the River at 21 Alexander Street in Yonkers, New York. Through its members' affiliation with the American Canoe Association, YPRC also maintains access to a canoe camp at Lake Sebago in Harriman State Park where we hold educational youth paddling events, as well as paddle sport safety instruction for individuals of all ages every summer. YPRC also operates a boat building shop for members' boat building projects, as well as instructional Club boat-building projects. YPRC sponsors model boat-building projects for youth in cooperation with the Yonkers public schools, as well as winter, in-pool kayak instruction for youth and adults in cooperation with the Yonkers YMCA. YPRC has this past summer also piloted a youth paddling program with the Yonkers YMCA at its Lake Sebago Camp. YPRC maintains an internet web site and list serve through which members organize kayak trips throughout the New York Metropolitan area. We maintain a close relationship with the neighboring Beczak Environmental Center and other Hudson River-oriented organizations and are involved in Hudson River clean up and environmental education projects. We are prominent participants and play an important role in organizing the Yonkers annual Riverfest event. We also host open house rescue skills clinics, paddling skills clinics, boat-building workshops. Boat Building Program
YPRC has for the past several year run a highly successful boat building program. Led by its House Captain, Jack Gilman, who is a highly skilled builder and instructor of both "skin on frame" and "stitch and glue" kayaks and small boats, this program encourages recreational paddlers to learn to build their own kayaks. Summer Youth Paddling Program
In addition to winter youth instructional paddling program conducted at the Yonkers YMCA pool, this past summer we piloted a summer youth paddling program at YPRC's Lake Sebago camp in Harriman State Park. YPRC volunteers provide Instruction and transportation. Member Population
YPRC serves over 150 members. Members pay a nominal annual dues fee, and for an additional modest fee are provided with kayak storage at the club boat house. Membership is open to the public, and in addition to the Yonkers membership, members hail from communities throughout Westchester County and the Bronx. Area youth are served through the boat building and paddling programs and in this way taught an appreciation of the waterfront environment and its value as a community recreational resource that must be preserved and enhanced. YPRC and its boat house already play a significant role and is destined to play an even larger role in Yonkers' ambitious waterfront development plans. The importance of YPRC's efforts has been recognized through the receipt of grant support from the city of Yonkers, the State of New York, and the licensing of the property on which our boat house is located by the County of Westchester.
