Hovsep Erchenian qualifies for the 2022 World Rowing Indoor Championships

February 7, 2022 Homenetmen Eastern U.S. Community News 0
Hovsep Erchenian

Hovsep Erchenian was born in Athens, Greece and moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1951, where he graduated from the Kherimian Varjaran in 1964. Due to the turmoil in the country, the family relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He joined his high school rowing team and later became captain of the 1972/73 College’s Inaugural Rowing Team. Erchenian dedicated his life to his family and his career as a professional civil engineer. He is married with three children and four grandchildren. 

Erchenian moved from Canada to the suburbs of Washington, DC in December of 1978 and has been an active member of the community and its organizations for over 40 years. He transferred his membership from the Homenetmen Hamilton to the Washington, DC chapter and was elected as the chapter’s athletic director in 1980. In 1982, during his chairmanship, he initiated the chapter’s Scouting Troop 1918 which has roughly 70 members today. As an active member within the Eastern USA Region, Erchenian moved up the ranks as the Regional Athletic Director in 1984. Following the end of his term, Erchenian was appointed chairman of the Regional Athletic Committee where he helped facilitate the Eastern USA Regional Athletic Game by-laws which continue to be used as the basis of the Eastern USA Navasartian Games to this day. 

As the pandemic kept everyone sequestered in their homes, Erchenian wanted to get back in shape and decided to return to his roots by purchasing a Concept2™ indoor rowing machine and restarted his rigorous training. Erchenian soon realized that some of his training times were faster than most participants within his category. (The rower has a log connected to a central recorder which tracks and ranks 5,254 machines and users worldwide.) It took Erchenian a little over a year to refine his technique, style and efficiency and lose more than 30 pounds. Over the past 15 months, Erchenian has set several personal milestones. He’s rowed over one million meters. He completed 5,000 meters in 20 minutes and 23.8 seconds and 2,000 meters in 7 minutes and 51.9 seconds. Erchenian is qualified to compete in the 2022 “Concept2” World Indoor Rowing Championship, which will be held from February 25-26. Erchenian will be participating in the masters category for males between the ages of 70 and 74 years old. 

The tournament allows three rowers to qualify per continent for a total of 15 in this category. The host city for the 2022 World Indoor Rowing Championship is Hamburg, Germany. Due to the pandemic, these games will be held virtually. 

Erchenian’s goal is to motivate fellow Armenians to stay fit and find an event or sport that motivates them to thrive at any age and to never give up or give in.  

Homenetmen Eastern U.S.

Homenetmen Eastern U.S.

The Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts, known as "Homenetmen," is a non-profit organization founded over 100 years ago. Believing in the idea that strong bodies lead to strong minds, Homenetmen has provided Armenian youth across the globe with a moral, physical and psychological education outside the school environment, while also demonstrating richness of the Armenian culture and heritage. Today, Homenetmen is a worldwide organization with over 25,000 members on five continents. On the East Coast U.S., Homenetmen is a thriving organization with 12 chapters and over 900 members, governed by the Homenetmen Eastern Regional Executive.

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