Hi Everyone,
The fall rowing season is here! In this month’s newsletter, we will cover the following topics:
* Team Status
** Varsity 8
** Lightweight 4
** Novice Program
** USC Scrimmage
* Fall Schedule
* Fundraising Update
* Fall Alumni Event (Nov. 11)
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Team Status
This year’s team is the largest team SDSU has fielded in the better part of a decade. The team currently has a Varsity 8, a lightweight 4, and 3 full novice 8s.
Varsity 8:
This year’s varsity 8 features many returning rowers from last year’s squad, along with several novice’s that have returned from the previous season. Unlike previous years, all 8 rowers are heavyweight guys, and will not be pulling double-duty with a lightweight boat!
Lightweight 4:
The 4 rowers that raced in the ARCA championships have graduated. However, a new batch of lightweight rowers are looking forward to exceeding the accomplishments of last year’s 4. One exciting thing is that this team is the first full time lightweight team SDSU has had in many years!
Novice 8s:
This year’s team has 3 full novice 8 boats at practice every morning. The potential of this team is very exciting. There are a few lightweights and heavyweights that are already surprising the coaches with solid erg scores. The team has been rowing by 8s for the past couple of weeks, and have been improving greatly every morning.
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USC Scrimmage:
On October 13, the USC Trojan Crew traveled to San Diego to perform a scrimmage against the SDSU Aztecs on Mission Bay. USC has about the same number of rowers as SDSU, so this was a good chance for the two teams to get an early season indication of where each boat was.
The varsity 8 lost to USC’s team by a couple of boat lengths, however, they were significantly faster than they had been in years past. The lightweight 4 followed the tradition of many previous SDSU lightweights by beating the USC heavyweight 4 by multiple boat lengths.
The first Novice 8 also lost by a couple of boat lengths to the top USC novice 8, however, they had an equipment failure during their piece, as well as an adventure trying to make a turn. The second and third Novice 8s all won their pieces by a significant margin.
At this event, a large number of alumni (Gregg Buckley, Mark Leeds, Scott Dillard, Allan Miller, Mary Miller, Aaron Pollack, Josh Gruenberg, Michelle Pius, Eric Barge, Marisa Barge, Carter Goodnough & Dan Smith to name a few) fed the rowers after a morning on the water. It was quite fun hearing old stories (some for the 10th time 🙂 ), and encouraging the current rowers
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Fall Schedule
If you are around Southern California, and you want to watch a race, feel free to stop by and talk to the team & coaches:
Sunday, 11 November = “San Diego Fall Classic” on Mission Bay
Sunday, 18 November = “Head of the Harbor” in the LA Harbor.
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Fundraising Update
Everyone from the foundation wants to thank you for your generosity. We’ve received donations from over 25 people from all eras (1960s, 1970s, 1980s & 1990s), and many more have promised to contribute. The total amount of the contributions already received is over $15, 000 and your generous donations keep rolling in! Between what we have received already, and the commitments from our former rowers, we will have raised over $100,000! Special thanks goes out to Josh Gruenberg for helping fundraise for a brand new Resolute and to Scott Petry, who worked his contacts at Cal to help donate two like-new boats and some oars to the team.
We are encouraging all former athletes to donate something. It’s a great opportunity to support the team, and let’s get donors from all of the eras to help rebuild the team! Feel free to contact us (info@beekleyrowing.org) if you have any questions.
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Fall Alumni Event (Nov. 11)
The past several years, SDSU Crew has hosted a fall event for our alumni. This year’s event will be on November 11, at the north end of Ski Beach. The festivities begin at about 7:30AM, where we will be able to watch the teams race. The last rowers should be approaching the finish line around 10AM. Once the racing is finished, we will dedicate a new shell called the “Henley ‘85”. This boat is going to recognize the 1985 team that represented SDSU in the famous regatta.
The Board of Directors at the Foundation is going to provide some food for this event. Andy has volunteered to provide some of his tasty smoked meats, and there will be some other munchies there, too. Let us know if you want to attend, so we can provide enough treats for everyone!
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Donations are always accepted, and as a 501(c)3, any donation to the Beekley Rowing Foundation is tax deductible. Feel free to contact us (info@beekleyrowing.org) or at:
H. Del Beekley Rowing Foundation
10601-G TIERRASANTA BLVD #389
SAN DIEGO, CA 92124
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