OBCR Erg-A-Thon at Oysterfest!

Our Oyster Fest Ergathon is coming up on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, at the OBCR boathouse! This is an important program-wide event for OBCR, bringing our athletes and families together to raise funds for the club, introduce Oyster Fest visitors to rowing, and represent OBCR in our community. All athletes are required to participate as part of their team, and parent volunteers will play an important role in making the weekend a success.

How the Ergathon Will Work

Athletes will be at the boathouse throughout the day, rotating through erging shifts with their assigned teams. Between turns on the erg, athletes will help welcome visitors, encourage donations, explain our programs, and cheer on their teammates. Please plan for a full-day commitment, including setup and cleanup, and bring lunch, snacks, a refillable water bottle, and weather-appropriate athletic clothing.

Teams will compete for the highest total meter score through rowing, fundraising, and community outreach:

• Every meter rowed counts toward the team’s total.
• Every $1 donated adds 10 bonus meters.
• Each contact-sheet signup from someone interested in OBCR programs adds 1,000 meters.
• Qualifying pledges over $200 tied to a meter goal earn double donation-meter credit when the team reaches that goal.

Team spirit will also be part of the fun! Groups are encouraged to choose their own names and themes, coordinate outfits or decorations, and get the crowd involved. Additional instructions for tracking scores and team-theme bonuses will be shared before the event.

Fundraising Through Zeffy

We will be using Zeffy for this year’s Ergathon fundraising. Each team is already set up, and each athlete can join under their assigned team and create a personal fundraising page.

Visit the OBCR Oyster Fest Ergathon fundraising page.

To get started:

1. Open the campaign link and select “Fundraise.”
2. Choose “Join a team” and select your assigned team.
3. Follow the prompts to enter your information and create your fundraising page. You can personalize it with a photo, a fundraising goal, and a message about what rowing at OBCR means to you.
4. Share your personal fundraising link with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, and invite them to support your team.

Please join your existing team rather than create a new team. Parents can help athletes complete the setup and share their pages.

Donations made through an athlete’s page contribute to their team’s fundraising total and the overall OBCR campaign. Supporters can also donate directly to a team. To ensure your team receives credit, share your personal page or your team’s page and ask supporters to donate there. Although the main campaign includes an option to identify a team when donating, using a team or athlete page directly will help prevent confusion when calculating scores.

Zeffy’s fundraising totals show dollars raised; our Ergathon standings will combine donation bonus meters with meters rowed and other qualifying bonuses.

Pledge Sheets

Attached is a link to pledge sheets for Groups A–D to help athletes track commitments from supporters, including pledges that depend on the team reaching a rowing goal. Please use the tab for your assigned group.

For each pledge, record the donor’s name and contact information, the dollar amount promised, and any agreed-upon team rowing goal. For example, a supporter might pledge $300 if the team rows 100,000 meters. If that goal is reached, the qualifying donation would earn 6,000 bonus meters instead of the usual 3,000.

Pledge Sheets

Team Assignments

Each group is welcome to choose its own team name! Please coordinate any name change with the coaches so the Zeffy page and event scoreboard stay consistent.

• Group A: Brady, Rory, Luke, Dylan, Marisol, and Sabrina.
• Group B: Alyssa, Jonathan, Gabriel S, Ben, Gabe C, and Alexa.
• Group C: Maalika, Zain, Sam H, Shyer, Sam J, and Evan.
• Group D: Harris, Jake, Andrew, Milo, Kylan, Carly, and Danielle.

Parent Volunteer Shifts

Parent volunteers will help with setup, welcoming visitors, donation and contact-sheet support, event organization, and cleanup. Two-hour shifts will be available on both days:

• 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Setup and opening support.
• 12:00–2:00 p.m.: Midday event support.
• 2:00–4:00 p.m.: Afternoon event support.
• 4:00–6:00 p.m., plus breakdown: Closing support and breakdown beginning at 6:00 p.m. Parents taking this shift should plan to stay until cleanup is complete.

Please consider signing up for one or more shifts. These hours count toward your family’s eight-hour volunteer requirement per athlete. Signup details will be shared through SportsYou and email.

Patagonia Prizes and Team Orders

Each member of the winning team will receive a custom OBCR Patagonia quarter-zip! Rowing, fundraising, and outreach all contribute to the final score, so every team member has a way to help the group win.

Everyone else will also have the opportunity to purchase a team Patagonia. We will collect orders after the Ergathon, once the winning team has been determined. Final pricing, sizing, embroidery details, and ordering instructions will be shared with the order form.

Please get started by joining your Zeffy team, sharing your fundraising page, and collecting pledges. Thank you for helping make Oyster Fest a successful weekend for our athletes and our club. We look forward to seeing everyone’s teamwork, creativity, and OBCR pride in action!

Best,
Kevin Kelley
Oyster Bay Community Rowing