Olympic Past and Present

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Mar 142021

We wanted to take a moment to congratulate current board president Bernard Aparicio on his showing at U.S. trials last month in Sarasota.

***Bernie lining up for the first round of the repechage***
Photo credit to Row2k

Bernie has been training for a spot on the U.S. lightweight olympic national team since 2019, rowing with the Vesper high performance team in Philadelphia. After missing the Vesper selection for the lightweight mens 2x, Bernie decided to enter into the open weight 1x trials to race against 24 of the fastest single scullers in the United States vying for a lane in Tokyo.

Despite having only a few weeks to train in the single leading up to the event, Bernie placed 9th overall in what is the most competitive race in the United States. As former Aztecs rowers we can’t help but be equal parts nostalgic and proud of what Bernie has accomplished to date.

From all of us at the foundation and Aztecs everywhere – Congratulations Bernie!

See the full results of the olympic trials here.

Garrett Klugh

With Tokyo fast approaching, we wanted to take a moment to highlight to story of Aztec and Olympian Garrett Klugh, who rowed at SDSU from 1992 – 1997 and competed in the straight four during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens among many accomplishments during his rowing career.

To this day, Garrett has remained involved with the team, speaking to the athletes about his experience and inspiring Aztecs to consider rowing at the highest level. Check out his recent interview below on the Athlete to Entrepreneur podcast and to hear his full story including his experience rowing at SDSU.

***Click the picture above to listen to the full episode***

Episode Description:

“When 9 year old Garrett saw the Olympic torch run by his house in 1984 he decided he’d be in the Olympics. The rest of his story is simply awe inspiring. If you like grit, persistence, twists/turns, romance but no-violence, all told by a master story teller.“

2021 brings a renewed hope, and unprecedented challenges for the future of the team and the Beekley foundation. Consider doing your part to help make the foundation successful by contributing monthly via our online donation system.

The Latest Update On Aztec Rowing

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Dec 182020

On November 20th, SDSU announced the discontinuation of the Women’s Rowing Program. The Open Letter by the University describes their stance and reasoning for the decision. Unfortunately, there appears to be little opportunity for the Women’s team to continue as a fully funded program after Spring 2021. The decision represents a loss for both San Diego State athletics and the rowing community at large, which has seen funding for many teams disappear due to budget cuts this year.

Coach Craig Doan and the athletes have been following this closely, and will update the board on women’s rowing potential club status as the 2020-2021 season unfolds. The H. Del Beekley foundation is committed to supporting the team’s decisions throughout this process and providing guidance as needed.

Both teams share facilities, including the boathouse and erg room that will be affected by this decision. The board is considering releasing funds to assist the Men’s team, if necessary. It is possible that funds planned to be used for a new shell in 2021, may be utilized to help the team during this time. We will do the utmost to keep our membership informed of this as we assess the situation.

If any of our members have questions, or would like to discuss the state of the team, please reach out to us here directly at the H. Del Beekley Foundation.

Unfortunately, the state of COVID has led us to cancel our events this year. Despite this, the H Del Beekley is on track with its fundraising! Thank you to our monthly contributors, who have added great stability to our fundraising. We have been engaging alumni personally, and are working hard to expand our membership. Please consider donating to the 1925 Campaign and bring the team out of COVID strong!

Happy Holidays to all,

Bernard Aparicio
H Del Beekley President

2020 brings uncertainty and challenges for the Aztec Rowing. Consider doing your part to help make the foundation successful by contributing to the foundation monthly via our online donation system.

October Newsletter

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Oct 302020

Fall is upon us, and the school year is underway at SDSU. It has been a tumultuous year for everyone, and we hope this newsletter finds you well. For SDSU Men’s Crew, the pandemic has hit the racing season hard, but the team continues to persevere. After the cancellation of the spring racing season, the team has been quarantined since March. While unable to row as a team, the athletes have stayed in good shape, and are itching to get back on the water.

The Upcoming Season…

With rowing in team boats impossible, the team has kept their fitness with weekly workouts and zoom meetings. The team has adopted a socially distant virtual fitness program. As the campus continues virtual classrooms and strict dormitory quarantines, athletes will continue to train within reasonably safe conditions. At SDSU the Aztec Recreation Center is closed, along with the Aquaplex. The Mission Bay Aquatic Center is open; however, there is little possibility of rowing team boats out of the facility. With these constraints in place, the team will continue virtual workouts, with the hope of conducting socially distant in person workouts at open space areas (Presidio park, Mt. Soledad, the infamous Tecolote Canyon). In addition to these land workouts, Craig is taking tentative steps to get the team in singles – where you can’t blame the other guy for bad set!

The 1925 Campaign

SDSU Men’s Rowing was established in 1925 (year up for debate). In this 95 year history, the team has both achieved victory and suffered defeat. It is an amazing experience, where walk-on athletes row not for scholarship, but for a pursuit of self-excellence. The sacrifices needed to succeed in rowing are important to it’s lessons, and these stay with alumni for life.

To perpetuate these traditions and continue the growth of the team, the H. Del Beekley Foundation is launching the 1925 Campaign. This campaign will raise money for the boat fund – enough to purchase another 8+ for the team. From September 2020 to August 2021, we ask alumni to donate $19.25/mo via our donate page. Our goal is to commit 44 SDSU Men’s Rowing supporters to sign up for this campaign. We would raise $10,000 over the course of the year! Let’s pull together and make it happen.

Join the 1925 Campaign

Virtual Happy Hour

With our alumni row impossible to hold this fall, the foundation is setting up a “Virtual Happy Hour”. Grab a beer and reminisce about the good ol’ days. Spread the myths and legends of Aztec Rowing without worrying about finding a person to drive you home! We hope to see you at the happy hour, held over Zoom. Event details will be sent out soon! Please let us know if you are interested, so we can have a rough idea how many to expect. Mention if a particular day works best!

Updated Websites

The Head Coach and Board have invested time to update both AztecRowing.com and BeekleyRowing.org. Take a look at the awesome updates, which include:

Special thanks to Head Coach Craig Doan for putting in tremendous effort to update the team website.

Wishing all our readers and their families the best,
Bernard Aparicio

Go Aztecs!

2020 brings uncertainty and challenges for the Aztec Rowing. Consider doing your part to help make the foundation successful by contributing to the foundation monthly via our online donation system.

Annual Recap & Team Update

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Jun 242020

Even with the season cut short, both the team and the foundation would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the supporters who have contributed this year by donating or attending a race. Below are some of the highlights from this very unusual year.

Annual Meeting

With the 2020 Crew Classic canceled, the foundation held our first ever virtual meeting on April 5th. Eleven members attended via phone and webcam to discuss the future of the team, the foundation, and elected officers to the board. (You can read the meeting minutes here.)

2020 Elected Board Members
President – Bernard Aparicio
Vice President – Matthew Stewart
Treasurer – Steve Lewis
Secretary – Brandt Watson
At-Large Member – Kameron Kennington
At-Large Member – Andy Olson

New to the board this year, is at-large member Kameron Kennington. Kam rowed for the Aztecs from 2011-2015, serving his final year as the club’s Public Relations Officer. Kam joins the Foundation in 2020 as a member at-large. He is eager to continue to follow the team’s growth, and is honored to have a chance to help create positive momentum for current and future Aztec oarsmen.

State of the Team – From Head Coach Craig Doan

On Thursday March 12th, Associated Students and the Sports Club Council suspended all club activities before correctly cancelling the remainder of the spring season two-weeks later in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While this was an unprecedented, and admittedly painful, way to end the season (particularly for our 5 graduating seniors) this was not completely unexpected. With the cancelling of the Ivy League season just the day before, we knew the dominos would be quick to fall and spoke to the team in advance of that Thursday morning practice. We hit the Mission Bay water that morning focusing the day’s session on making sure we understood the value of our time on the water with the people who shape our daily lives and collegiate experience, unsure of if and when we’d get the chance to experience it all again. We hadn’t yet heard an announcement from the University when we left the H Del Beekley Boathouse that morning, but everyone understood it was an inevitability. Following the announcement, the entire team joined me at my home to say our goodbyes to the season and each other as the students quickly departed for home in order to be with their families.

On May 12, one month after cancelling the current spring season, the CSU board overseeing San Diego State University announced that the fall 2020 semester will take place primarily online. While nothing has been stated officially at this time, it is believed that this will directly impact the team, with practices being unlikely to be allowed on Mission Bay, effectively cancelling the fall season. This situation is still ongoing, and the Foundation is committed to supporting both Head Coach Craig Doan and the team during this uncertainty.

Throughout this, the team has stayed active and engaged. The athletes are meeting monthly on zoom to catch up and plan for the coming year. After finishing out the semester logging workouts against one another, they have entered a short detraining phase and will begin summer workouts in preparation for next season in a few weeks. In the meanwhile, the Executive Board is meeting bi-weekly via Zoom to discuss and plan for next season and will be posting updates via social media and the team website. Amidst this unprecedented situation, I have consistently been impressed by this team’s ability to see this extended leave as an opportunity to take advantage of, and to make this team better going forward. While I know so many have found this time to be discouraging, I have been continually impressed by the drive and positive attitudes of those involved in Aztec Rowing.

Craig Doan
Head Coach, SDSU Mens Crew

Golf Tournament Registration is open!

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Jan 172020

The H. Del Beekley Rowing Foundation cordially invites you to participate in our 3rd Golf Tournament Fundraiser on Saturday, February 8th at the highly rated Admiral Baker Golf Course in San Diego.

The morning will start off with player check-in opening at 8:30 AM. At that time players will get a golf cart, some range balls, and will have some time to get their practice swings in at the driving range before our tee times begin at 9:30 AM. At that point we’ll be kicking off our Scramble format tournament through the links. So, whether you consider yourself a pro or more of a duffer, you’re sure to have a great time and end the round with a solid score!

In addition to the tournament itself, we will have a couple of challenges along the course for anyone who elects to buy the Bonus Packs. The first will be the Longest Drive competition where you can unleash your best drive and put yourself in the running for a prize at the end of the event. The second challenge will require a bit more finesse as you take aim to get the closest to the pin on one of the shorter holes on the course. If the big drive and pin challenges elude you on the course, your bonus pack also buys you raffle tickets to put you in the running for a prize at the end of the event.

All net proceeds from the event will go directly to the H. Del Beekley Rowing Foundation. The success of this event depends on the involvement of many individuals as well as business sponsors who participate in the event and sponsor tees or raffle items. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring a tee or the event through in-kind items, or would like to make a straight donation, please contact the Beekley Rowing Foundation board by emailing info@beekleyrowing.org.

The registration options are now open on our registration site at (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/h-del-beekley-3rd-annual-golf-tournament-fundraiser-registration-88395724993). Online registration will close on Sunday, January 27th at midnight, so head on over and sign up for the event. Or better yet, rally up a foursome of your buddies and take advantage of reduced pricing for a Foursome with Bonus Pack. And remember, while this event is hosted by the Beekley Rowing Foundation, participation in the event is open to all! We’re looking forward to seeing you on the course!

2019 End of the Year Newsletter

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Dec 312019

The Fall season has come to a close and we’re looking ahead to 2020. The team had a great Fall with new head coach Craig Doan, racing in the San Diego Fall Classic and the Head of the Harbor. You can read all about them here.

Golf Tournament

The annual H Del Beekley Rowing Foundation Golf Tournament will be held on February 8, 2020 at the historic Admiral Baker Golf Course. Come enjoy a round of golf and fun with your friends and other supporters of the Beekley Foundation. We’ll be sending a registration email soon so keep your eyes peeled.

2019 Donations – Today’s the last day!

If you’re looking for a meaningful tax deduction we’re always appreciative of donations towards our continuing efforts to ensure the success of SDSU Men’s Crew. This year we were able to buy the team an 8-man racing shell. With your donations we can continue to provide updated equipment and support to the team. Please donate today!

2020 Crew Classic

This year the San Diego Crew Classic is April 4 & 5th. We will be cheering on the Aztecs as well as dedicating the racing shell that Beekley Foundation donors like you helped purchase for the team. More to come!

After an exciting year we are looking forward to a successful Spring racing season in 2020. We hope to see you at a race this Spring. Go Aztecs!

A New Season Begins: Team Update, Alumni Row, and More

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Oct 082019

*Members of this year’s varsity team recruiting on campus outside Love Library*

Coaching Change

We regretfully announce that head coach Julia Gamache has decided to leave the program to become the head coach of LMU Men’s rowing. Julia began coaching novice at SDSU in 2013, and has been a mainstay of the program ever since. In her six years with the team she showed tremendous dedication and leadership. The board wishes her all the best in her endeavors.
Following this transition, Novice coach Craig Doan has stepped up to lead the team this year as Head Coach.

Craig joined the team as an assistant coach in 2016, stepping in to help coach both the novice and varsity squads. He holds both a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry and a Masters in Exercise Physiology from Kansas State.

A Kansas native with seven years of experience as head coach of the Kansas State Men’s Rowing Team, Craig has already made an impression on the program. Craig played a key role coaching the novice squads in back-to-back Crew Classic grand final appearances in 2018 and 2019.

The board welcomes Craig to this role and looks forward to working with him this year.

Team Update

The team continues to move forward. Coach Craig recruited 32 novice rowers this fall, and the coach and officers are continuing to push for a strong novice class. The team highly encourages alumni to attend a practice to meet Craig, and share stories of their time on the team. If interested in attending a practice, please contact the head coach at cdoanrun@gmail.com

The search for a new assistant coach is well under way. If you know any qualified coaches who can make an impact, don’t hesitate to reach out to coach Craig.

H. Del Beekley Foundation Update

Last year, the foundation prioritized the purchase of a 8+ racing shell. Following close discussions with the coaching staff, who explored many options, the board voted to purchase a 2017 Pocock 8+. The team was incredibly grateful for the new equipment, which has complemented their fleet well. A tremendous thank you goes out to all the contributors for this shell. The board will continue to raise funds to support the team in all their endeavors! With alumni support, this team can continue to flourish.

Alumi Row – Saturday November 2nd @ 6:30 AM

Come get on the water with this year’s team and relive the challenge and camaraderie of Aztec crew during our annual Fall Alumni row. Last year we had two full 8’s of alumni come out for a mixed row with the team, and they still had some swing left in them.

Submit your 5K erg scores by – just kidding.

Join us for a comfortable row and revive old memories with another beautiful morning on Mission Bay. Reach out to info@beekleyrowing.org to reserve a seat.

Aztec Football Tailgate – Friday November 15th @6:30pm

Join fellow Alumni and team members for our homecoming tailgate as SDSU takes on Fresno State at 6:30pm. We have been busy preparing for this year, as over 50 alumni, friends, and family joined us last year for some BBQ and cornhole before the game.

Meet as over at H3 at 5pm! We’ll have hot dogs, burgers, and some pulled pork as well as the SDSU Men’s Crew history books to peruse.

Tickets to the game can be purchased here

Need a new Aztec Crew Shirt?

The team is getting ready to make their order for this years Fall Racing/Trading shirts and wants to extend the opportunity to purchase to our alumni. The shirts will cost $25 ($30 shipped anywhere in the US) and are black, short-sleeve performance tee’s from Badger.

If you’re interested, head over to the pre-order form and place your order before pre-sales end on October 15th. Payment will be accepted via Venmo or good old fashioned check, and all sales will additionally help offset the cost of outfitting the team with this years shirts.

Upcoming Events

A boat cannot move fast without many oars working in concert to build momentum. Likewise, the purchase of the Pocock 8+ this year could not have been possible without the support of donations from alumni across all years. Consider doing your part to help make the foundation successful by contributing monthly via our new online donation system.

Summers Greetings! Padres Game Night & More

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Jul 012019

*Congratulations to the class of 2019 graduating oarsmen and coxswains (left to right) Bret Birney, Philip Pentsakov, Logan Gonsalves, and Melissa Gogin*

Happy Summer SDSU Rowing Alumni, Supporters, and Friends!

We hope your summer is off to a good start and you are enjoying the extra hours of sunlight this time of year brings.

The rowing season may be over but the Foundation is in full swing working with the team to prepare for another successful year of Aztec Rowing. This includes having a few open slots for current Aztec oarsmen to row at San Diego Rowing Club through the summer for free, thanks to the generosity of Foundation/SDRC members. Any current rowers in town for the summer wanting to keep their fitness and technique sharp can contact Bernie at info@beekleyrowing.org for more info.

Padres Game Night 2019

Join the Foundation for another summer Padres Game Night on Saturday July 27th vs. the San Francisco Giants! Tickets will be between $25-$30. RSVP to info@beekleyrowing.org by Tuesday July 9th to reserve your seat with us at one of the nation’s most beautiful ballparks! We will have a pre-game meet up at 5pm – more details to come.

Consider joining our growing list of monthly donors

A boat cannot move fast without many oars working in concert to build momentum. Likewise, the purchase of the Pocock 8+ this year could not have been possible without the support of small donations from alumni across all years. Consider doing your part to help make the foundation successful by contributing monthly via our new online donation system.

Future Beekley Foundation Events

July 27, 2019 – Padres vs. Giants Alumni Game Night
November 9, 2019 – Alumni Row, Homecoming Football Game/Tailgate

Crew Classic Boat Purchase and Year-End Update

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Apr 162019

Hello SDSU Rowing Alumni, Supporters and Friends,
After an exciting fall, it was a pleasure to kick off the spring season with the Crew Classic! The regatta featured some of the premier teams in the United States, and provided the Aztecs an opportunity to test themselves against the fastest crews in the nation. Both SDSU men and women attended the regatta, with a great crowd of supporters to cheer them on. In addition to the weekend’s amazing races, the Aztec tent was filled with great stories of past racing, fresh food off the BBQ, and memorabilia of SDSU rowing.

Annual Crew Classic Banquet

The weekend kicked off with the Annual Team Banquet. The event saw a healthy attendance, and a number of items up for auction. The evening featured a social dinner, speeches, and a silent auction. The O’Hara family provided three scholarships in memory of James O’Hara for exceptional Novice athletes. Congratulations to Sawyer Lowe, Shane Siegal and Sarah Levin for receiving the memorial scholarship from the family. The team and the recipients express their appreciation for the O’Hara family for their continued support.

Crew Classic 2019

We were excited to have both the Varsity 8 and Novice 8 racing in finals on Sunday. The Varsity 8 pretty handily took out Long Beach in their heat, and secured a 6th place finish in the Petite Final on Sunday. The Novice 8 took 3rd in their heat, which landed them in the Grand Finals on Sunday, where they narrowly missed the podium by finishing 4th overall. In addition to the boats making the Sunday finals, the team was also able to field a 2nd Varsity 8 that raced on Sunday to round out their showing at the event. With two 8’s of athletes on Varsity, and almost a full second eight of novices, the team is continuing to use their numbers to drive inter-squad competition as they prepare for WIRAs. Full results from Crew Classic weekend can be found here

Crew Classic BBQ and Presentation from former coach Chuck Datte

*Chuck Datte recounts his time with SDSU to the current team*

During Sunday Finals, Andy Olson and Dan Smith fired up the grill and served up a whopping portion of food. Visiting Alumni reminicised of their years on the team, and shared stories of racing at Crew Classic with current rowers. The team is incredibly grateful to all the alumni that attended the event, and appreciates the history shared.

To make this event even more influential on the Aztecs, a history of Aztec Rowing was given by Mr. Chuck Datte, who coached for the Aztecs from 1985-1986-. Chuck unearthed some relics of Aztec racing, with photographs of the team racing at IRA’s, Henley, and training for WC trials. The amazing crews of that era toiled greatly at the oars. Chuck described the difficulties faced by the athletes and coaches as they raised expectations to unprecedented levels. Most inspiring, he instilled in the athletes that this accomplishment came from the athletes themselves.

2019 Foundation Meeting and Officer Elections

After Chuck’s dialogue, attending Alumni gathered at the tent to kick off the H. Del Beekley Foundation’s 11th Annual Meeting. The meeting visited the successes of the past year, namely the alumni participation at local events, and the purchase of a new racing 8. A discussion with the team brought forth the upcoming goals for the following year, which focus on the development of benchmarks for the team and foundation. In addition, the team officers highlighted the Alumni events and their positive impact on the team. Meeting minutes will be posted on the H Del Beekley website, but for convenience, the 2019-2020 officers are introduced below.

President – Bernard Aparicio – Bernard served as vice president in 2018, and takes on the president role under the guidance of his fellow officers.

Vice President – Matthew Stewart – Matthew takes on the vice president role after serving with distinction as an at-large member.

Secretary – Brandt Watson – Brandt continues as secretary, where he served in great capacity last year.

Treasurer – Steve Lewis – Steve continues as treasurer, in which capacity he has been outstanding for three years.

At Large – Andy Olson – Andy opted to take a step back this year. As an at-large member, he will prove invaluable for his extensive history and undying passion for Aztec rowing.

At Large – Haakon Christoffer Jonsmyr – Chris returns as an at-large member, which he served admirably last year.

Boat Fund Update – Boat Purchased

Finally, the weekend included the purchase of a 2017 Pockock 8+ from the University of Texas. Last year, the foundation voted to purchase an appropriate racing shell for the team. After a steady year of fundraising, the foundation raised $30,000 for the purchase, and secured the boat shortly before crew classic. The team happily brought the boat home on Saturday, and it is now the top boat for SDSU men’s crew. The boat was purchased not with a single donation, but through the generosity of over 50 Alumni over the past two years. This collective effort shows the great ability of the Alumni base to support the team, and we endeavor to continue this over the next year.

The varsity team bringing in the new 8+ rowing shell delivered over the weekend

Alumni Spring Row – May 4, 2019

If tales of Crew Classic has inspired you to take up the oar again, you’re in luck! On Saturday May 4th at 7:30am, come down and relive the glory days as you join with fellow alumni to give the current Aztec oarsmen a run for their money. As usual, all eras of rowers are welcome, and several 8’s are expected to be racing. A $20 buy-in gets you a seat, first come, first served (fitness not required). If you would like to participate, contact us (info@beekleyrowing.org) or a member of the board and we will reserve your seat. Come down and pay tribute to the great oarsmen of Aztec Rowing!

Please contact us if you have any questions!

Aztecs Spring Race Schedule

April 27th-28th – WIRA – Sacramento

Future Beekley Foundation Events

May 4 2019 – Spring Alumni Row

Boat Opportunity – We need your help now!

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Apr 032019

Aztec Alumni and Friends,
A great opportunity has just landed in our laps to purchase a very gently used 2017 Pocock XVIII for the team. The even better news is that it will be on a trailer and brought out to Crew Classic THIS WEEKEND! In order to capitalize on this great opportunity, we need to close the last $5000 gap on our boat fund effort ASAP! So, I’m throwing in my support by donating the first $1k today and asking you to help me and the rest of the Foundation make this goal a reality by heading to the Donate page and making your contribution today!

We want to thank everybody that has already helped put over twenty thousand dollars into the boat fund so far, without you we wouldn’t be able to consider this great opportunity. For the rest of you, now is the time to take action and join the effort. We have a very limited time window to get the HUGE benefit of transportation covered because the boat is already on a trailer to make the trip to the San Diego Crew Classic!

Andy Olson
President – H. Del Beekley Rowing Foundation

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