University of Minnesota Athletics
Learn to Row Fundraiser Oct. 5
9/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Sept. 24, 2013
The University of Minnesota rowing coaching staff will host its biennial "Learn to Row" fundraiser on Saturday, October 5.
This event is targeted for the families and friends of varsity and newly novice rowing team members. Experience what members of the Minnesota program get to do every day. Learn the basics of the stroke on the rowing machine, get your first rowing blister in our first-class rowing tank facility, and "catch a crab" rowing on the Mississippi River under the instruction of head coach Wendy Davis. All are welcome, no matter the last time you broke a sweat. It is in the name of fun, and proceeds will benefit and sustain the Golden Gophers' varsity rowing program.
Experience your own rowing moment and help a worthy cause!
What: Learn to Row Fundraiser
Date: Saturday, October 5 -- the day before the Head of the Mississippi.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (1 hour shifts)
Where: University of Minnesota Boathouse, East River Flats Park, 550 E River Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN
Who: Parents, siblings (14 yrs+), family, friends, fans of Minnesota Rowing
Cost: $75 each
Checks payable to "University of Minnesota Rowing" may be sent to the Rowing Office, 516 15th Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. To pay online, go to https://www.goldengopherfund.com/Online/default.asp. Follow the "Our Sports" tab in the upper right and click, "Give to Rowing" to pay now by credit card.
How: Click on this link to sign up for your preferred one hour shift. Please mark your first and last name. You will receive a waiver release form from assistant coach Teresa Logemann at logem006@umn.edu to confirm your place. Space is limited!
Why should you invest in sustaining the rowing program?
Here's a story. In January 1980, Susan Weeks was a freshman at the University of Minnesota. She and her dorm mate decided in the middle of winter to try out for the rowing club team. She took her first stroke on the water that March during a spring training trip to Texas.
The rest was history.
In the falls of 1981 and 1982, the Minnesota women's club team earned first place at the Head of the Charles club 8+ event. In the spring of 1982, Susan's lightweight 4+ won collegiate nationals.
Susan recalls, "As for memories, I can tell you that we traveled with very limited resources ... we paid our own way and rented a University van to pull the trailer and packed us all inside! I was one of the trailer drivers. We often slept on the floors of peoples' homes that someone knew, or we packed a hotel room with rowers. It's a long drive to Boston!"
Susan graduated from the University of Minnesota in the mid 1980's with dual degrees in nutrition and dietetics and sports nutrition. But her rowing story was far from over.
She continued rowing after college, and at one point along her journey, she was coached by Peter Morgan, who currently is the head novice coach at the University of Minnesota.
In 2000, women's rowing at the University of Minnesota became an NCAA Division I varsity sanctioned sport.
In the fall of 2012, Susan's daughter, Lisa, started her freshmen year at the University of Minnesota as a walk-on. In the spring, she was voted novice MVP by her peers. Currently a sophomore, Lisa is competing in her first season as a D-I varsity rower for the Golden Gophers.
After her daughter Lisa's first collegiate rowing season, Susan expressed her wishes for all Minnesota rowers.
"What I want for the Gopher women is to always do what it takes every day in every practice to accomplish their goals. A race is a moment in time. It is a measure of where you are at that given moment against specific crews. It's the result of those day-to-day practices. I row every day that I can. I truly love this sport! Rowing is lifelong, and I am forever grateful for having found this sport which is very near and dear to my heart. Rowing at the University of Minnesota gave me so much more than athletics: teamwork, relationships that work through tough conditions, determination, perseverance...the list goes on.
My hope for each and every Gopher rower is that they can truly love rowing, and that they want to be at every practice (and not because they have to be there). I want them to have a sport that they can pursue beyond their college years. I want them to row fiercely on the water for their team. I want them to have friendships that only other rowers can understand. Rowers from Minnesota understand rowing in freezing temperatures ... through cold sleet, wind, and waves. Definitely, they are "Minnesota tough." Lisa walked on to the team as a true novice. I have a deep respect for her accomplishments. Although she has parents that row, she pursued rowing all on her own. I live in Washington, DC. When I had heard that Peter Morgan was her coach, I knew she was in great hands!"
Row Gophs!
