‘The Boys in the Boat’ gives the Hollywood treatment to rowing during an Olympic year

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The leaders at USRowing have been working with producers of the new movie “The Boys in the Boat” to sponsor dozens of screenings across the country. They’re hoping the film will help raise funds for an organization that received about $3.5 million of its $15 million budget in 2023 from charitable donations. They also hope the movie will build awareness across racial and socioeconomic lines. In 2021, a study found that only 2% of women who competed in NCAA rowing were Black. The rowing community knows that to thrive, it needs to find more people all across America to give the sport a try. The movie debuts on Christmas, a mere seven months before the Summer Olympics in Paris.