Crew
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We offer Crew, or rowing, in the fall and spring. Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in this country (since 1852), and an Olympic sport. We compete in single sculls and double sculls, and occasionally in a quadruple scull or a coxed four. Our prevailing use of small boats (singles and doubles) promotes “boat feeling” – the sensitivity that lets expert rowers know when their bladework and force application are just right. Our most committed athletes become versatile candidates for collegiate programs.
Fall regattas are time trials over courses of two to three miles. Fall is mainly for skill building and aerobic training, with low competitive stakes. Everything points toward the spring “sprints,” 1500-meter races rowed side-by-side from a standing start to a finish line. Championship sprint regattas are held on multi-lane courses and progress from a qualifying round toward a final. Because we get to water later in the spring than most programs, our most accomplished athletes are two-season rowers. In the fall we can spend weeks working patiently on technique; in spring we train hard on land until the ice goes out, then launch the boats and start work on racing skills right away.
Rowing is hard work, great exercise, and fun. The races are intense, and scary at first, but when you get the boat moving, well there’s a sweet magic about it.
