RowAmerica to build dock, launch rowing program at Moraine State Park
MUDDY CREEK TWP — Entrepreneur and rowing enthusiast Howard Winklevoss, flanked by state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, officially unveiled his plans for the RowAmerica Pittsburgh rowing club, which is expected to open next spring along the banks of Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park.
“Rowing is a very special sport,” Winklevoss said. “We’d be so thrilled to see 500 kids out here every day rowing, and adults as well.”
The first part of the RowAmerica project will involve the construction of a new dock adjacent to the existing docks at the Bear Run Boat Ramp, where Friday’s news conference was held. In the future, a building will be constructed for the storage of boats.
“We’re going to put the docks in early next spring, and the racks for holding the boats,” Winklevoss said. “So, we’re going to start next spring.”
Once programs commence, which is estimated to occur in the spring of 2026, RowAmerica is aiming to turn Lake Arthur into a hub for rowing programs for colleges and high schools, as well as competitive rowing teams and rowing clinics.
The programs will be administered by RowAmerica Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization outside the purview of Moraine State Park or Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Winklevoss told the Butler Eagle the inspiration to start a rowing club along Lake Arthur came during a recent visit to his alma mater, Grove City College.
“And I said, ‘It’s too bad you guys don’t have rowing here,’” Winklevoss said. “And they said, ‘Well, you should see Lake Arthur. Maybe that would be a good place.’”
Bernstine was at the news conference to pledge his support for the project.
“Anytime there’s an opportunity to bring a public/private partnership right here to help people right here in the eighth legislative district, we’re gonna jump all over that,” Bernstine said. “I couldn’t be more appreciative for Mr. Winklevoss stepping up and making sure that this happens, as well as the folks at DCNR for allowing us to put this facility on their grounds.”
Rowing has a special place in the Winklevoss family. His two sons, Cameron and Tyler, learned the sport in Westport, Conn., and represented the United States in the pairs competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
During the news conference, Winklevoss spoke of the potential health benefits of rowing and other aquatic sports.
“There was an article recently in the New York Times,” Winklevoss said. “It said, some of the best recruits for Navy SEALs are swimmers and rowers because they can endure the pain. I’ve talked to some neurologists and I’ve asked them, ‘If we’re pumping in a lot of oxygen into these kids for an hour and a half a day, six days a week, is that changing their brain?’ And they said, ‘Absolutely.’ It takes whatever IQ you might have and opens up that brain for better absorption of information. The kids seem to do better scholastically.
“When RFK (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of United State Health and Human Services) talks about how we're not fit in our country, come to our club and see the thousand kids that are rowing here. We'll show you fitness.”
Also present at the introductory news conference was Dustin Drew, park manager for Moraine.
“I’d just like to say, we're happy to be working with these folks to be able to feature rowing as a more consistent activity here at the park and on the lake,” Drew said. “We’re looking forward to continuing the planning process.”
