@EnvisionSFU – #SFU Rowing NCAA: The Story, The Dream.
10 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Doing Good, Rowing, Simon Fraser University Tags: 2011, enVISION, rowing, SFU, Simon Fraser University
envisionSFU
@beverlywu Beverly, what are your passions which #SFU can improve upon to make your #SFU experience unforgettable? #shapeSFU ^rl
Dear EnvisionSFU,
The short answer: I am passionate about the SFU Rowing Club. The Women’s crew is among a few clubs being considered by SFU Athletics as the next team to move up to the NCAA. I want this for the crew. Ever so much. Please, if you have any influence with the people at Athletics, tell them my crew’s story of seizing opportunities to become athletes at the university level, even if we weren’t handpicked out of high school or granted scholarships. It’s about building strong athletes out of untapped talent. It’s about paying your own way, training hard, learning to win.
The long story: In September 2008, I returned to SFU to finish my undergrad degree. Looking for something extracurricular to do, I signed up for the Rowing Club’s Learn-To-Row program at Clubs Days in September 2009. The athletic and personal discipline and opportunity that the club makes available to all students, staff, faculty, and alumni is part of why I now love the team so much. One does not need to start out a star athlete recruited from high school. One can be really athletic or a little unfit to begin with, but as long as the drive and commitment is there, all can be made into competitive athletes. A new sport is learned. The SFU Recreation Centre becomes one’s second home. One develops strong bonds with one’s fellow athetes, each pushing another to be their very best. One competes against rowers from other universities with fully funded Varsity programs – most often UBC and UVic. The fully funded programs arrive at regattas with beautiful boat trailers and shiny equipment and SFU straps on a couple of boats and some oars to car roof racks for a trip to Victoria.
Left: SFU. Right: UBC. March 2011.
If only we were fully funded. The endless fundraising efforts get tiring, but I’m not complaining. I want to show you what our crew does with what we have.
What other varsity athletic team at SFU offers to teach its sport to other students, and does so, every year, without fail, at the beginning of Fall semester?
What other varsity athletic team welcomes all who aren’t already 10 years deep into the sport into their fold as one of their own?
Rowing does. Rowing will.
Opportunity. Take a look at SFU’s inaugural yearbook: 1965-1966. You’ll find that the rowing club started up in Spring 1966.
SFU Rowing Club in the 1965-1966 Yearbook
Opportunity. I have teammates who are or were dancers, skiers, snowboarders, cyclists, curlers, triathletes, and late bloomers who didn’t participate in extracurricular sports in high school. I played volleyball on my school team from grades 6-12, and would never have dreamed of competing in sport at the university level (I’m 5’2″ and going on 25 this year)…until rowing.
Opportunity. SFU Rowing has trained National and World level rowers in the past, and we can do so again. We’ve recruited an amazing head coach this year who is leading the charge, building the team to be competitive with other university programs.
Opportunity. April 3rd, 2011: SFU Women’s 4+ wins Gold at Duelling Over a Grand @ Elk Lake, BC (I’m on the far left):
My crewmates are amazing people who strive to achieve their best, and push others to do the same. They are amazing, beautiful people who work together to build something special. There is camaraderie, there is competition, but there is no bitter rivalry.
I am proud to be SFU Crew.
Take a look – Visit http://www.sfu.ca/rowing to see how much I care about SFU Rowing. I asked for, and got an SFU themed blog. I’ve written all of the content for the blog for the past year. I started http://facebook.com/SFURowing and http://twitter.com/SFURowing to get the word out.
In short, being able to say that I was part of the team that brought SFU Rowing to the NCAA would make my experience at SFU truly unforgettable.
About me: I am a second generation SFU student whose parents met at SFU in the 1970s. Then when I went to school, I met my husband in an undergrad class at SFU. He now works at SFU too…so I consider myself quite thoroughly SFU blooded. I intend to continue supporting SFU Rowing for a very long time.
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