SANDPOINT — Thanks to a joint effort between the Pend Oreille Rowing and Paddling Association and the Spartan Booster Club, Priest River Lamanna High School has two new rowing machines in the weight room for the entire school to use.

The high end machines, called Ergs, are worth more than $1,000, but PORPA worked with the booster club and got them for a fraction of that cost, providing a valuable new resource to the school.

Priest River athletic director Matt George was appreciative of both groups coming together for the benefit of Spartan students, and particularly the athletes in every sport.

“It’s a great core workout. It gives us an alternative to workouts and practice, especially for an injured player. It’s part of our weight program curriculum,” said George, thanking the booster club for purchasing another cardio machine. “The booster club got us a (stationary) bike last year. That’s three new pieces of equipment for everyone to use.”

PORPA president Todd Sudick lauded the many benefits of the machines, from a great workout to rehabbing an injury, which while never welcomed, are a reality in high school athletics.

Sudick said most power when working the machines comes from the legs pushing, more so than the arms pulling, but it’s a full body workout to be sure.

“It’s good conditioning, aerobics for upper and lower body,” claimed Sudick, whose club will host a regatta in late September. “It’s also a really good machine for rehab, a non-impact exercise that can help an athlete recover.”

There is a definite right and wrong way to row, so PORPA club member Patricia Sudick plans to teach the teachers the rudimentary mechanics of it, the flow and rhythm to the workout.

Patricia was showing Spartan head football coach Justin Torfin and George the basics on Tuesday, and plans to help the PE teachers and coaches in the future.

“We’re going to teach the coaches to row, then they coach the coaches on teaching their staff to row,” said Patricia. “Then we’ll teach all teach the kids to row. We’ll be standing by.”