Due to the generosity of the members of the Malta Boat Club located on famous "Boathouse Row" on Kelly Drive not far from our school, Saint Francis Xavier School is now able to offer a unique opportunity to the boys of our school in grades seven and eight.

Beginning in January 2007 Malta members began to teach our students the fundamentals of the sport of competitive rowing. Our school is the only Catholic elementary school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to have such a program.

As the program now operates, members of the Malta club meet with participating students, early in January, to prepare them for participation in the sport, (which is often referred to as "Crew"), explaining its fundamentals and introducing them to an Exercise program designed for competitive rowers. Starting in January and continuing until early March, the students report to the Malta House two nights each week from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for physical training and instruction - including simulated rowing on an indoor rower in the Malta House. In early March, they go onto the water for the first time in a quadruple scull, a 4-man boat where each oarsman has 2 oars (or "sculls") each, with an experienced Malta member aboard. For the next three weeks, each quad on the river is shadowed by a motor boat with a Malta coach who evaluates and instructs the rowers. By the time the season's program ends in late April, quads rowed solely by SFX students, but always accompanied by a boat with a Malta coach, travel up the Schuylkill River, as far as the Girard Avenue Bridge.

During calendar year 2007, 8 of our students – 4 from seventh grade and 4 from eighth grade- participated in the program. Ms. Dolores Butler, our principal, notes that far from the program detracting from the students school work, their teachers report a positive effect on attendance and academic performance. We are very grateful for the generosity of the members of Malta for creating this truly unique opportunity for our students.