An Important Message for LPJ Chicago Parents

Your rower is a valuable part of our team. So are you. LPJ Chicago started ten years ago as a 20-rower start-up with no boathouse, storing boats every night on a trailer. We have grown to an almost 100-rower, nationally-ranked team with a staff of seven part- and full-time coaches. We have sent our rowers to National and World Championships every year for the past three years. This hasn’t happened by accident.

The most important factor has been our terrific coaching staff. The other factor is our parent community – LPJ Chicago is an all-volunteer organization. This means we need and expect parents to fully participate. How can you help the team? Here are some examples:

Join the Booster committee
First and foremost, join the Booster committee. We meet only once a month and we need more parents on this committee to do a variety of jobs that keep the team going – travel planning, team shopping, media and communications, website work, fundraising and more. It’s a fun group – you’ll be happy you joined. To find out the date and time of the next meeting, contact Booster President Nancy Hala at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Come to Regattas and participate
This starts with bringing a dish to share – any type of salad, sandwich or snack will do it. We have a limited food budget. Our burgers and hot dogs are donated by Allen Brothers, but we need parents to round out the menu so that we are serving our rowers healthy and tasty dishes all day long. Parents eat too, so please, bring a dish to share. (If you cannot bring a dish, you can make a monetary donation at the food table.)

In addition to being fun, Regattas are also a lot of work and the parents do it all, from setting up tents, grilling, serving food, washing dishes, hauling gear, and taking everything down and packing it away at the end of a long day. We always need more hands. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Debi Amzal, to sign up to help – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Be a bus / hotel chaperone
Living in Chicago means we have to travel to most of our Regattas. For every trip we need six bus / hotel chaperones who will ride the bus both ways and stay at the hotel with the team. It’s an important job and a great way to get to know the rowers. Contact Debi Amzal to sign up.

Help with the end-of-season banquet
The LPJ Chicago banquet is at the end of each season in May. It’s a wonderful event, a time to congratulate our rowers and coaches and come together for a fun evening. We need parents to prepare food, get decorations, set up the room, and clean up afterward. Contact Nancy Hala to sign up.

Lend your skills toward boathouse improvements
We love our boathouse, but capital improvements are always on the agenda. We need parents who have carpentry, painting and design skills to help us develop and install signage for the boathouse and make other repairs and improvements throughout the year. If interested, please contact coach Austin Work at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Whatever you do, get involved. Competitive rowing will change your teenager’s life. It is a time-honored, challenging, unique sport, and the more involved you are with LPJ Chicago, the more you will learn about it. You’ll be glad you did.