Community Rowing, Inc.

★★★★★Daniel Scanlan

One more reason to love the Charles River.

★CRIexposed

Wealthy Rowing Corporation named Community Rowing Inc (CRI) instructs staff to call police on a lone kayaker over subjective vibes after he emailed them about the multiple times he was physically endangered by their rowers and harassed by their staff Over the years of me kayaking on the Charles River I have been physically endangered multiple times by negligent vessel operation from CRI rowers including me ducking my head down to avoid being struck by an oar, typically followed by rudeness or indifference. I persistently experienced impudent harassment from their staff who felt entitled to pressure me over my lawful kayaking location as if independent paddlers are somehow their subordinates. No, I am most definitely not the only independent paddler who had a nasty experience with rowing programs where egocentric staff and rowers feel entitled to informally monopolize a public waterway as if it’s their private training ground. When I eventually emailed CRI about this conduct where I also mentioned court without saying anything unlawful in the emails and proceeded to attempt to get a response whether this will discontinue they transferred my emails to the marine unit. The executive director Ted Benford then informed me that they have instructed their staff to call the police if they have “any concerns about any contact” with me, without alleging a single violation against me anywhere in our correspondence. I am a lone individual and they are a large and wealthy corporation with massive leverage. They never called the police on me before and they looped in the police regarding me only AFTER I emailed them regarding the mentioned conduct. After I expressed objection to this in our email correspondence, referring to this as polite and bureaucratic threat packaging using carefully picked vague wording, an attempt to exploit the flaws of the legal system and conveyed that this is intimidation, deterrence and an attempt to pre-frame me and asked to have this instruction of CRI rescinded I had a lieutenant from the marine unit Michael Pedersen chime in with his official police email. Despite the fact that there was nothing unlawful in my emails to CRI he told me that he is aware of the emails I am sending to Community Rowing and said that the proper authority to send my “concerns” (as he referred to it) is to their unit. I would love to speak freely about this and openly talk about my conclusions and inferences from the above mentioned about CRI, the marine unit, the relation between the two and this monstrous instruction of police escalation over “any concerns about any contact” with me that seem overwhelmingly obvious to me or at least seem very plausible. Unfortunately, due to the reality of our legal system and my experience with CRI I can not rule out that if I do go beyond the mere facts I shared above they may use their massive wealth and leverage to open a SLAPP against me to bury me with legal fees and paper work, or some other initiative to shut me up or prevent me from being in the area. Sadly there is only so much I can say without exposing myself to realistic risks of that nature 🤐. If they attempt to try some legal maneuvers against a lone kayaker just for writing what I shared that would solidify this as material for a newspaper story which might deter them from even trying. Keep in mind that CRI is a non-profit that massively relies on a positive self-image. I would love to know your thoughts.

★★★Zahraa Ansari

We chose CRI for our wedding, and the location itself was a dream. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and provided a stunning backdrop for our special day. For that alone, it gets high marks. However, the planning process was incredibly stressful due to the venue's event coordination team. Our original point of contact was consistently non-responsive. We struggled for months to get answers to basic logistical questions about on-site equipment, and our emails, calls, and texts were frequently ignored. The situation worsened when our coordinator quit just two weeks before our wedding. Unfortunately, the new coordinator was no more communicative. We were ultimately forced to go to CRI the day before our wedding to do the team's job for them—personally testing the microphones, checking the tent lighting, and confirming every detail we had been asking about. Bottom Line: CRI is a gorgeous place to get married, but I would only recommend it if you are local and have the flexibility to go in person repeatedly to get your questions answered. If you need to rely on clear communication via phone or email, you may want to look elsewhere to avoid unnecessary stress.

★★★★★Mike Wise

From an Adult Rowing perspective, CRI must rank as one of the finest facilities and programs in the world. From the "Learn to Row" program to the Comp Teams, including Novice and Rec programs, plus a full boathouse with every kind of boat, CRI provides space for the head, the heart, and the hand. Teammates, Coaches, Maintenance and Admin staff are each skillful, thoughtful, and helpful. The 2nd-floor training facility rocks year-round - 75+ ergs, 30+ bikes, weight room, class room, and locker rooms. Regardless of age, skill level, physical abilities, or fitness, CRI is a place to learn and grow in the sport of rowing. Plus it's on the Charles River, home of the iconic Head of the Charles, where CRI teams practice! CRI - a gem hidden in plain sight.

★★★★★Del

Beautiful all times of the year, definitely a must for rowers of any skill level!