FISHKILL – San Miguel Academy of Newburgh attended a special early access screening on Wednesday of Boys in the Boat, based on the New York Times best-selling true story about the University of Washington’s rowing team that competed for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The film is directed by George Clooney and based on the book by Daniel James Brown, which has inspired the San Miguel Rowing program since its inception.

The film was especially poignant for the young rowers as a pivotal race takes place in nearby Poughkeepsie, which has a rich rowing history. Bobby Mach, coxswain for the underdog team, was the runaway favorite character of San Miguel rowers. “Bobby Mach motivated his rowers and without him they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did,” said 7th grade coxswain Emiliano Cervantes, whose boat is ranked 10th after the 2023 USRowing Youth National Championships.

Having been a non-competitive program for many years, San Miguel Academy Rowing started racing in 2021 thanks to the support and encouragement of Arshay Cooper and his foundation, the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, which is working to make rowing more accessible to underserved communities.

San Miguel Academy Rowing has grown into one of the largest middle school programs in the country and is currently 8th and 10th in the country in the Men’s U15 division after the 2023 USRowing Youth National Championships. The mission of San Miguel Academy’s Rowing program is to increase educational opportunities for our student-athletes. It has proven to be significantly beneficial in helping our students to secure top-level educational opportunities in high school and college.

San Miguel Academy serves low-opportunity families in the city of Newburgh who would typically not be able to access the sport of rowing without the assistance of San Miguel Academy and our sponsors. San Miguel Academy Rowing is currently under the sponsorship of the New York Giants Foundation, A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, and the Head of the Charles/ Philadelphia Gold Cup Foundation.