Sparks Cornell

Ithaca, New York
Sparks Cornell
Please Join Us!

Sparks collegiate camps foster athlete ownership via daily 1:1 goal mentoring with collegiate coaches, technical coaching, video feedback, small groups of campers at low staff ratios, seminars, and inspiration from a network of people who believe in the power of rowing to unlock a profound relationship with performance.

Category

Collegiate

Ages

14

-

17

Cornell-Clocktower-smaller.jpg

Join Us in Ithaca

Rowing came into being at Cornell in 1873. Since then, the university has maintained a legacy in the sport that has been part of the orgin story for scores of Olympians and world champions.

Sparks is proud to partner with the Cornell staff to provide access to world-class coaching, state-of-the-art facilities, and a supportive team environmen. Coaches Ben Olsen and David Tigerman write, "Rowing teaches you the value and fulfillment of pursuing your dreams and goals. The pursuit of these in rowing involves a multifaceted approach. Physically, rowers must develop strength, endurance, and flexibility to optimize their performance on the water. Mentally, rowers need to cultivate resilience, discipline, and mental toughness to navigate the challenges of the sport, which include intense competition, adverse weather conditions, and the demand for precise teamwork. When all of these align and work together, something magical can happen."

We maintain a small capacity at Cornell to facilitate an immersive experience. The mission of Sparks collegiate camps is to provide perspective to athletes via the setting, program, and variety of educators available and inspire a deeper connection with rowing. Beyond multiple training sessions a day, camp includes small groups, seminars, goal setting and one on one review with coaches, and video feedback. Coxswains also have a dedicated coach and curriculum. The average age and experience is 15 with 1 year (two seasons) at a staff-to-camper ratio of 1:5.

Get the Full Sparks Cornell Program Itinerary Here!

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At A Glance

Excellent Staff at Low Ratios

Excellent Staff at Low Ratios

Our camps are supportive communities via staff and campers' commitment to growth via the sport.
Thoughtful Admissions

Thoughtful Admissions

Our admissions-based camps have rigorous processes. The result are groups committed to each other and the sport.
High Standards of Behavior

High Standards of Behavior

We hold high expectations of our staff and athletes to create focused, positive environments for growth.
Reading and Writing at Camp

Reading and Writing at Camp

We believe in developing the whole person via the connection between mind and body.
Healthy Hospitality

Healthy Hospitality

We're deeply thoughtful about healthy environments for growth - including food, housing, and tech.
The Reflective Cycle

The Reflective Cycle

We utilize a cycle of action and reflection in small groups to teach camper show to coach themselves.

Camp Focuses

Teamwork

Coxing

Sweeping

Large Boats

Ergometer Skills

FAQ

What is your cancellation/refund policy?

Camp purchases are fully refundable minus transaction fees until March 1 for summer camps.

  • We strongly recommend you purchase travel protection with cancel for any reason coverage.
  • If you withdraw after the above dates, there are no refunds for any reason whatsoever (including, but not limited to: voluntary withdraw, illness or injury, summer school, security concerns or other reasons).

  • If your camper leaves camp after it starts, there are no refunds for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to: voluntary withdrawal, illness or injury, dismissal by Sparks (due to discipline, behavior, lack of fitness or motivation, etc.) security concerns, or any other reason. Any costs incurred by Sparks as a result of an early departure are the sole responsibility of the parents.
  • In the unlikely case a camp does not proceed, we'll work to notify you by March 1. You'll be offered a different program or a refund. In some cases, we may extend the 'go, no-go' date. We recomend buying your flight after March 1 or later, if we advise.

Do you offer scholarships or discounts?

We offer discounted prices for "early bird" registrations prior to January 31.

Regarding Scholarships:

Please see this link to our NCAA Compliance webpage.

What level of experience is necessary for this camp?

Our collegiate introductory camps support the widest range of camper experience levels - from folks starting the sport to active Division I recruits. That said, camper experience averages at about one year (2 seasons) of competitive rowing experience.

If you've never rowed or coxed before, we provide ten "Foundational" slots per camp session for students who possess athletic backgrounds, focus, and the comfort to engage intensively with their own staff and schedule.

For experienced athletes: we require coxswains to have one season of experience or more and offer twelve slots with a dedicated coach and curriculum. We ask both experienced men and women to have one season of experience or more and typically average three experienced eights per gender.

Once you get to camp, you'll be put through an assessment the first day to place you with a group that will work best for you - so don't worry about whether you're good enough (or potentially, "too good" ;) ) for camp.

Tell me more about the Sparks coxswain curriculum

Please feel free to read in detail about our coxswain curriculum here.

What differentiates Sparks camps?

We are the only camp in rowing with a full-time staff that has academic and professional backgrounds in experiential education. We also have a summer operations staff (many are returners that teach during the school year) who buy into the idea of personal growth at camp not just for campers - but for themselves as well.

The result is a culture sincerely committed to the power of rowing as a personally transformative experience built on vulnerability, thoughtfulness, responsibility, and initiative.

This does not mean other camps are relatively inferior; in fact, we feel such a perspective is not helpful. The camp needs to fit the athlete. Our focus is on utilizing rowing to create self-awareness for our camp community.

What is/is there difference in the Sparks collegiate camps?

The objective at our introductory collegiate camps is to educate and inspire, so we suggest seeking fit for your goal set. The difference is in the coaching staff and location. We advise using the camp to get inspired insofar as collegiate environments, and as such it would be best to choose one that might be on your school list at some point. Different venues may also feature different attractions from a rowing perspective. Beyond that, coaching staffs differ per camp and some students seek to connect with particular coaches.

Who are the camp coaches?

At Sparks, home school coaches are given first priority for slots followed by partner school coaches from our network of collegiate camps - this results in a mix of coaches from these schools. (If you have a question about a particular coach, click the intercom button in the bottom right corner and ask us!)

We fill any remaining slots with the highest level of coaching talent available worldwide. This has generally been coaches from Holland and England, Olympic medalists, collegiate educators of solid repute, and one five time Olympic coach.

We take the quality of our educational staff extremely seriously at Sparks. We do not value being an Olympian or a Division I coach in itself but instead seek to hire coaches who are first talented educationally and second passionate about the sport. If you throw in Olympic experience on top of that, then that helps too!

How does Learn to Row or Cox work at your camps?

We reserve a very small grouping of slots at each camp for the learn to row/cox section.

The group receives its own dedicated coach for the week and is oriented to the sport we love.

Ideal Learn To Row/Cox athletes have prior athletic background, and will be taken where they are and taught from the ground up.

How does Learn to Cox work?

You should sign up as a coxswain with zero seasons of experience and then be oriented to the fundamentals of the sport with the Learn to Row group while you will also attend meetings of the coxswain section at camp. You will also have access to the camp coxswain coach beyond of your dedicated learn to row/cox coach.

What should I seek from coaches at camp? Is recruiting a part of camp?

Per NCAA rules, recruiting or speaking in specifics about institutional recruiting policies is not a part of camp. Campers may speak about the overall process and ask coaches' opinions on specific steps of their journey (i.e. 2K development), but may not inquire as to their possibilities at the coaches' programs during camp.

Coaches all have their own style of pedagogy. Part of camp should be to experience the differences in those styles such that campers may better understand the way coaching staff manage and connect with the sport for their own benefit. Campers will have the chance to speak with coaches per their recruiting questions multiple times during camp.

Tell me about safety at Sparks

We employ safety and risk management practices from the adventure education industry, where some risk is inherent but must be quantified insofar as educational value. These practices are initially employed in program design and we work hard to train operations staff to seek to maintain an awareness of specific risks at all times. No outdoors programming can guarantee safety, however professional management of risk is key to the art of providing consistently excellent experiential education programming.

Please also see our essential eligibility criteria here.

What are the pertinent dates and times to know as a camp parent?

Registration is 1 PM - 2 PM on the first day of camp

Camp ends at 1 PM on the last day of camp

Times for Day Campers generally run from 8 AM to 8 PM

More specific information is available in the FAQ for Registered Campers on the camper forms dashboard - though we're always available in the lower right hand corner for questions.

How do you handle travel to/from Ithaca? Do you offer an airport shuttle?

We provide airport pickup and drop-off at Ithaca (ITN) for solo-flying campers. A staff member will meet them upon arrival, group them for Uber transport to camp, and ensure their return to the airport via Uber after camp. Please schedule arrival flights by 12:30pm on the first day and departure flights after 3PM from Ithaca (4 PM from Syracuse) on the last day. Register for this service through the camp dashboard.

  • Registration is 1 PM - 2 PM on the first day of camp
  • Camp ends at 1 PM on the last day of camp
  • Transfers from the Ithaca Airport at Cornell are complimentary

Alternatively, if you need to fly in and out of Syracuse (SYR), Ithaca Airline Limousine (855.349.0084) offers transport - though the Cornell coaching staff recommends using Uber. A Sparks staff member will not be at the Syracuse airport for arrivals or departures.

What can you tell me about housing and supervision at Cornell?

Campers are housed in the Cornell dorms two to a room.

At Sparks camps, we have two staffs: a coaching staff and an operations staff. Our operations staff is responsible for the experiential education and pastoral care at camp. It is made up secondary school educators (Program Leaders) and current student-athlete alumni (Associate Program Leaders) who are led by an experienced Program Director. Operations staff chose to work at Sparks camps both as an active exercise in educational leadership development and to discuss rowing with the coaching staff.

The staff lives amongst the student athletes, and has oversight 24 hours a day. Unhealthy substances and/or behaviors are strictly prohibited.

Do you honor rooming requests? / What if I'm coming to camp alone?

We do not honor rooming requests unless there's a medical issue. We find requests encourage cliques and don't allow camp to meet each camper on an individual level: a level of educational quality we're serious about providing in our short time together. With so many groups of campers coming from the same schools or clubs - some of which having very different rowing situations than others -  the requests unintentionally disable the fun and growth of meeting new people and gaining new perspective. That said, there's plenty of time to hang out and experience camp with one's friends (the ones from before camp) during the day at camp.

Where are camp forms found?

Camp forms are issued at least six weeks prior to camp on our site via your dashboard.

I still have questions. Is it possible to speak with someone?

Certainly!

If you have an logistical or informational question, feel free to use the live chat in the bottom right corner. We can generally turn these around quickly.

If you want to speak with a real, live human - that's also possible! We just ask you schedule a call with us (click here) given we're a very small office.