St. Paul's School

Our Program

St. Paul's School has a more than 150 year tradition of crew with wonderful athletes. In recent years, we have enjoyed great success against tough competition in the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association. Since 2017, SPS crews have claimed more medals at the NEIRA Championships than any other girls program competing in the eights category, and our squad has brought home the team championship trophy four times in that same period. We also have competed internationally, winning Women's Henley in 2019. We have a large team, with five to six eights on the water each season.

Our goal is to support strong, powerful women in rowing and in life. Many of our athletes arrive at SPS with no rowing or coxing experience and are recruited into Division I college programs, with some even going on to row at the national and Olympic levels.

Facilities

Our rowing program enjoys state-of-the-art facilities, including the Crumpacker Boathouse, which houses an extensive fleet of shells and oars; a four-lane,1,500-meter racecourse on Turkey Pond; and indoor rowing tanks, all designed to support your development as a rower.


If you are interested in participating in crew at St. Paul's School, please fill out our questionnaire.


In recent years, SPS rowing alumnae have gone on to row at Yale, Tufts, Brown, Georgetown, Navy, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Trinity, Skidmore, Colby, Northeastern and the University of Washington.

Coaching

Head Coach Deb Vo grew up in Cincinnati and has fond memories of visiting SPS to race on Turkey Pond with her junior rowing club. She earned a B.A in English from Brown University, where she also won two NCAA Championship titles with the rowing team and was inducted into the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. After teaching for three years, she took a one-year sabbatical to earn an M.Sc. in English from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland before returning to the classroom. At St. Paul's, she is a teacher in the Humanities Department.

While rowing at Brown, Coach Vo was a part of the crews winning NCAAs in the Varsity 4+ in 2003 and the Varsity 8+ in 2004, helping win the team championship in 2004. She was a member of the US Junior National team 1999-2001 and the US U-23 National team 2005. Coach Vo rowed for Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, winning four national championships in the women's junior 8+ (1999-2002).

"SPS crew is special because of the coaches and team environment. Not only do we have amazing facilities but the atmosphere that the team creates when they're together is amazing. I came to SPS having never rowed before and the team welcomed me with open arms and made me feel excited to be there every day."
— McKenna '21

Become Big Red. The color will suit you.

Sportsmanship, respect and kindness are at the core of our coaching and playing, whether at the club, junior varsity or varsity team level. On the field, court and ice, students step into leadership roles, taking as their role models the coaches who also serve as their classroom teachers and house advisers. Our 95,000-square-foot Athletic and Fitness Center serves the entire St. Paul's community, helping all students prioritize their physical well being — no matter their athletic interests or skill level.

Still have questions about the SPS crew program? Send us an email: girlscrew@sps.edu