Penn AC Gold Summer Rowing Camp
Program Details
Penn AC Gold is a high-performance summer rowing camp. Our goal is to promote skill development, teamwork, and competition by providing quality coaching and programming. We will provide you with the opportunity to challenge yourself mentally and physically in many areas – technique, fitness, discipline, independence, and teamwork. What you learn here will serve you long after you leave. You will be exposed to a level of competition not found in most high school rowing programs.
Program Dates: 2026
New this year, Penn AC Gold will race at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, with practice starting on July 12th. All visiting athletes living in the housing provided during camp must arrive in Philadelphia on July 11th by 6:00 PM EDT. Our final regatta, the Royal Canadian Henley is held in St. Catharines, ON, Canada. Racing ends on Sunday, August 9th by 3:00 PM. Camp ends at the conclusion of racing in St. Catharines, on August 9th. More details to follow on athlete departure.
Gold Coaching Staff
| Head Coach – Junior Men/Recruiting Co-coordinator: | Will Scully |
| Assistant Coach: | TBD |
| Assistant Coach: | TBD |
| Program Leader: | TBD |
| Head Coach – Junior Women/Recruiting Coordinator: | Sierra Williams |
| Assistant Coach: | TBD |
| Assistant Coach: | TBD |
| Program Leader: | TBD |
| Coxswain Coach: | TBD |
Daily Schedule
Penn AC Gold offers a comprehensive program which includes a daily schedule that simulates the training schedules of collegiate and pre-elite athletes. Below is a typical daily practice schedule.
Typical Daily Schedule:
07:00 – Breakfast
08:15 – Bus departs for the boathouse
08:30 – First practice
11:30 – Bus departs for housing
12:00 – Lunch
13:00 – Lift/team meeting/video review/speaker
14:30 – Bus departs for the boathouse
14:45 – Second practice
18:00 – Bus departs for housing
18:30 – Dinner
21:00 – Bed
Practice Sessions
Training during camp will not only include twice daily workouts and on-the-water instruction, but also mental skills and athlete leadership development training. Our goal is to create a competitive environment where the athletes are challenged to excel. The athletes will train at a high level and be expected to adapt and learn quickly. Athletes can expect 10-12 water sessions per week, periodic video review, training on the erg, and/or strength training.
Mental Skills Training Program for Athletes
This year, Penn AC will partner with Greenepsych Clinical & Sport Psychology, led by Dr. Mitchell Greene to offer high-level athlete leadership development and mental skills training geared to meet the needs of junior athletes. Weekly programming has in the past included a combination of the below topics which will be delivered specifically to enhance the skillset of today’s athletes:
1. Mental Toughness for Athletes
2. Positively Managing Change
3. Imagery in Sport – Preparation for Race Day
4. Energy Management for Performance
5. Goal Setting for Athletic Development and Motivation
6. Sports Nutrition to Power Your Performance
The above sessions will be staffed by a professional facilitator and all course materials are included in the camp fee.
Eligible Athletes
Penn AC Gold is open to any interested athletes, limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender. For safety reasons we require athletes to have at least 1 season of sweep rowing, sculling, or coxing experience and the ability to swim. We accept Youth and U17 rowers and coxswains as well as lightweight rowers. If you are a graduating senior in 2026, you are still eligible for our camp, even if you turn 19 in 2026. Any rower turning 19 in 2026 will race in the U23 category at Canadian Henley. Based on space and equipment limitations, we strive to achieve a roster of 36 males rowers, 36 female rowers, and 10 coxswains.
| Youth Rowers & Coxswains: | For purposes of our camp, a Youth competitor is defined as someone who does not attain the age of 19 in 2026, or who is and has been continuously enrolled in a secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma. A Competitor thus ceases to be a Youth after December 31 of the year of his or her 18th birthday, or of the year in which he or she completes the 12th grade of secondary school, having been a full-time student, whichever is later. Youth rowers turning 19 in 2026 will race in the U23 category at Canadian Henley. |
| U17 Rowers & Coxswains: | For the purposes of our camp, a High School rower or coxswain who does not attain the age of 17 in 2026 is eligible to compete in the U17 category during camp. If you turn 17 in 2026, you are not eligible to compete in the U17 category, but you are eligible to compete as a Youth/U19/U23 athlete. |
Team Penn AC Gold
Since the club’s first recorded victory in the pair oared cup race of the 1882 Schuylkill Navy Regatta, Penn AC has prided itself on its winning tradition and has continued to amass on its walls, plaques, pennants, and banners - testimonies to its success. Today, we carry on this legacy with both national and international victories. Over the years, Penn AC has given birth to dozens of US National Team and Olympic oarsmen. Currently, no fewer than 15 elite level athletes are training out of the club. A Men’s 4x and Women’s Lightweight 4x from Penn AC represented the US at the World Championships in 2017, a Men’s 4x represented the US at the World Championships in 2018, and both the Men’s 4x and Men’s 2x represented the US at the World Championships in 2019. In 2021, Penn AC won Olympic trials in the Men’s 4x and raced at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne to qualify the boat for the Tokyo Olympics. Today, Penn AC is designated a USRowing High Performance Partner Club and the Philadelphia High Performance Training Center and will continue working in partnership with USRowing to develop athletes for international competition and the Paris 2024 Olympics. With the rebirth of our U23 racing team in 2021, Penn AC Gold athletes can and are encouraged to come back to the club in future summers while in college and train with aspiring national team athletes from all over the US.
Program Cost
Program costs vary depending on whether you are a RESIDENTIAL ATHLETE, or a NON-RESIDENTIAL ATHLETE. A RESIDENTIAL ATHLETE is defined as an athlete that requires full room and board during camp. A NON-RESIDENTIAL ATHLETE is defined as an athlete that does NOT require full room and board; he or she lives off campus. Many local athletes from the Philadelphia area choose to live on campus during camp and thus are considered RESIDENTIAL ATHLETES.
| Included in Program Cost | Residential Athletes | Non-residential Athletes |
| Housing | Yes | No |
| Breakfast | Yes | No |
| Lunch | Yes | No |
| Dinner | Yes | No |
| Transportation to practice | Yes | No |
| Transportation between practices (between boathouse & dorm) | Yes | Yes |
| Regatta travel expenses (housing, food, transportation) | Yes | Yes |
| Apparel | Yes | Yes |
| Regatta entry fees | Yes | Yes |
| Mental skills/leadership training | Yes | Yes |
| Outings | Yes | Yes |
| Facility costs/equipment | Yes | Yes |
| Coaching | Yes | Yes |
| Program Cost | Residential Athletes | Non-residential Athletes |
| Total | $8,150 (room & board included) | $5,350 (room & board not included) |
| Down Payment (due when accepting invitation and finalizing registration in CampDoc) | $1,500 (non-refundable) | $1,500 (non-refundable) |
| Remainder (due by June 1, 2026) | $6,650 | $3,850 |
Online Applications
Applications open by December 8th, 2025, and close either on May 17th, 2026 or when our roster is full. Spots are limited, so apply early to secure your summer camp experience. Applications are reviewed upon receipt and accepted on a rolling basis until all spots are filled. The final roster will be set no later than June 1st, 2026.