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!

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. 

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