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

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.

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