CSULB Crew Team, Men's side

     The Mens Crew team at Long Beach State is one of the oldest clubs on campus.  Founded in 1954, the crew team has had its ups and downs, but the biggest hardship they have faced is campus recognition.  Due to the early practice time, 5:30 am, most students have no idea what crew is or even realize we have a team.  Like other club sports, crew has no way of actually "recruiting" athletes by offering scholarships or other compensation through the university.
     "Recognition on campus is mostly 50/50," said Matthew Wood a senior and three year member of the team,  "We walk around with beach crew shirts on and people say 'What's that?' and you answer 'Rowing', and they ask 'What's that?' and you generally walk away after that."  5 am is not a time when most college students rise.  Therefore, one can see how easily something like crew could slip under the radar.

    Recruiting is possibly the biggest issue faced by the crew team.  Club dues are $500 per semester, and other costs include travel and apparel, which brings us to an almost unavoidable total of around $1,500 a year.  As you might guess, this is not a big "selling" point for the team.  Many recruits balk at the costs and ultimately leave the program until only the truly dedicated remain.  "The ones you do get drop before money is due, or you have members try to get by without paying, which ultimately just hurts the club," said Mathew Dalton a four year rower and three year member of the varsity team.
     The club is still incredibly competitive.  The number of novice rowers, or new members, has increased each semester.  The entire club, including both men and women, jumped from 56 athletes last year, to 80 athletes this year alone, 25-35 of those members on each side are novices.  High numbers like these, provides more oppurtunities to compete, not only with other colleges but also within the team itself.  The old saying, "iron sharpens iron", comes to mind when i think of the team.

     As a former rower, i know how difficult it is to face some of the heavy hitters in the NCAA, namely those close in proximaty.  USC, UCLA, UCSD, and Cal are the strongest crews on the West Coast.  Some races even include schools from the east, like Yale and Harvard.  "They just blow us out of the water," said the men's varsity coach, Robert Edwards.  "With other clubs its pretty similar we are pretty evenly stacked, and even against some the NCAA's, the smaller ones like Lewis and Clark just dont have the population to keep up."
     Crew is easily one of the hardest and least noticed sports on campus.  The men and women of the club are trying to change that.  They want to be seen and recognized for their accomplishments and they strive toward that goal every day.  So if you have nothing better to do at 5 am, there is always crew!

Photos courtesy of Matthew Wood