Tuesday, October 7, 1997
Love of sport spurs rowers on
CREW: Early morning hours don’t deter athletes from
pursuing desire to compete
By Rocky Salmon
Daily Bruin Staff
A thick fog hovers over the Marina Aquatic Center (MAC),
covering every inch of the water. Suddenly a shape appears and
quietly glides forward, an apparition of the Loch Ness Monster
myth. Slowly, voices echo through the mist and the image becomes
clearer as the fog dissipates from the haunted object.
Almost every morning this sequence takes place in the MAC as the
UCLA crew team practices. Most rowers wake up at 5 a.m. – when most
UCLA students still sleep in their dorms and apartments – and head
20 minutes away to practice for their up coming races.
What would drive a person to wake up so early?
Insanity would be a good first guess, but a wrong one.
"Once I started rowing I immediately loved it," said junior
communications student Sabrina Fox. "The feeling of rowing as the
sun rises is like no other – always pushing yourself to the limit
everyday."
For the crew team, dedication is extremely strong, even though
they are not funded by UCLA athletics. Five years ago there was a
funded NCAA crew team at UCLA, but funding was cut and the crew
team eventually lost all the money they were receiving.
Now the crew team has to put up their own money to participate,
$50 a month for each member.
"We have to pay for our own hotels, transportation, repairs,
fees, facilities and coaches," said Fox, a second-year crew member.
"It just shows how much we love the sport and are dedicated to
it."
The crew team gets up each morning and works out six days a
week. In the fall, there are extreme long distance rowing
preparations, which include running "stadiums," running 45 minutes
a day and rowing long distance three to four times a week.
Why would someone be drawn to such a rigorous schedule, juggling
work, school and rowing?
It’s the strong desire and love for the sport that pushes these
Bruins.
"Rowing gets addictive and you just have to go," Joyce Mui, a
sophomore, said. "It doesn’t consciously happen for me anymore. I
just can’t stop because it is so fun."
Many of the crew members participated in many high school
athletics and joined the team to stay healthy and play in a
sport.
"I played in high school sports and when I came here I decided
to try something new," said junior Mindy Fontius. "It was fun to
do. It was easy to row, but hard to row well, so that is why we
practice so much. You have to attend practice because everyone else
is depending on you to be there," she added.
Last year at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships the varsity
lightweight women’s four-person boat won two bronzes in consecutive
years and are looking to rise up a notch past a third-place finish
this year.
This year will hardly be smooth rowing for the Bruins, but with
many returning athletes, a run at the national championship may be
brewing.
Their first race will be on Nov. 2, when the club hopes to glide
past the competition. In the fall, the crew team races in longer
runs, which are up to 3.5 miles.
The club is looking to replenish a crew team consisting of a
men’s and women’s lightweight four- and eight-person boats and a
men’s and women’s regular four and eight.
This Thursday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center the club will
meet to recruit new members.
With dedication and an unquestionable desire, the Bruins are
looking to fossilize theories of UCLA rowing not being that strong.
This year the strong fog may disperse for the club and allow them
to travel broader seas.