2002-2003
By Jeff Brown
The Iowa State University Crew Club was founded in the fall of 2002.
Its roster was composed of students, staff, and local residents of Iowa
State and Ames. Only one of the initial members had had rowing
experience, but the rest were eager to learn thanks to the coaching and
motivation from recent Ph.D. graduate and former rower/coach Chris
Kafer. Using Coach Kafer's expertise, the crew club set about a long
season of indoor conditioning, as the club had begun with no equipment
or facilities from which to row.
From October to April the crew, fluctuating in numbers from
10-60, pushed themselves physically and mentally towards a goal of
racing come the spring. The crew spent seven months of 6am and weekend
practices and grueling tests, all for a goal which they had not even
touched an oar for, that was the level of their dedication and passion.
During those dark winter mornings the crew quickly learned the terrors
of the ergometer or rowing machine, jumpies, breeze thrus, and
wallsits, but yet they stuck at it, pushing themselves to meet their
limits and go beyond them.
The winter was also busy for the officers outside of the
gym, Coach Kafer, President Justin Gumm, Treasurer Kate Schroeder, and
Secretary Jeff Brown, set standards and goals for the club, so that the
club could establish itself as a long term institution. Finding
funding, establishing working relationships, and bettering the club
welfare, were often the daily duties of the officers. Coach Kafer set
upon all the rowers the importance of their duties, but made the
atmosphere enjoyable as well as challenging. Passing on his knowledge
to his rowers, Coach Kafer prepared the crew to be the best that they
could, making the most of that indoor training regimen.
Come spring time, the club was down to some 12 hardened and
dedicated rowers. This is the nature of the sport, considerable time is
needed to become proficient at the sport, but most times even a
generous rowing schedule can seem too little. The attrition in the club
membership was considerable. Nearly 100 people went into the club
during that first year, but in the end only the most dedicated and
passionate remained, but those that remained were ready and would be
rewarded greatly.
The Crew Club had established a working relationship with the
neighboring Des Moines Rowing Club. A deal was struck, where the ISU
Crew Club would be members of the Des Moines Rowing Club, but be
allowed to train and race as themselves. So in early April the team got
their first chance to pull an oar. The schedule was tight; a race had
been arranged with the University of Iowa Men's Rowing Club for April
19, leaving Coach Kafer and his privateers fewer than 3 weeks to
prepare. In a sport where Olympians never "perfect" their technique, 15
days to teach greenhorns to learn to row was a crazy challenge, but the
crew and Coach Kafer were crazy enough to try. In the span of 15
practices, the crew went from absolute beginners to rough, but
promising novices. A normal group of novice rowers would normally take
2 months to reach the level that ISU had, but the crew had met the
challenge.
The event was set for April 19 in Coralville, Iowa with Iowa
Men's Rowing Club and Indiana University Men's Rowing team. Men's 8 and
Men's 4 events were planned, but the hallmark of the day would be the
Men's 8, for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. For the event the Iowa State Crew Club
had 11 rowers ready and a coxswain, each one of that group had put in
countless hours towards the good of the club, as well as their
training.
The University of Iowa Men's Rowing Club had existed since the
late 1970s. Rowing from the middle of campus with their own boathouse
and equipment, the Hawkeyes were seasoned and well prepared for each
row. In contrast The Iowa State University Crew Club had no equipment,
having to rely on the Des Moines Rowing Club. The ISU Crew Club also
had virtually no racing experience and statistically, no real chance to
contend against Iowa. But since the Crew Club had made it to this point
and had beaten the odds to be in the race, anything was thought to be
possible.
The first race was for the "The Cy-Hawk" Trophy. The Novice 8A
had only raced as that lineup of rowers 3 times beforehand. From the
start the euphoria of the first race caught the team. They were the
ultimate underdogs, but rowed their hearts out as if they were in the
Olympics. In the end the Novice 8 did not win, but the satisfaction of
making the year complete, having began the year without a clue of the
sport to successfully training and learning to row made the effort all
worthwhile, even if only the crew were champions to themselves.
The second event was the Men's 4. Having only rowed for the
first time the day before, the crew knew that they would be up for an
even bigger challenge. As the race unfolded, Coach Kafer and even the
Iowa coach took notice of the form and ferocity of the ISU boat.
Pushing past the Iowa boat and dueling for second for nearly the entire
race, the crowd and teams were astonished. In the end the Crew Club was
narrowly edged out of second by Iowa, but ISU had put their name on the
map of Midwestern rowing and the future of the Cy-Hawk Trophy Challenge
would be safe thanks to the teams determination, The University of Iowa
Men's Rowing Club took notice.
At the end of the inaugural year, the Iowa State University
Crew Club had established itself in the rowing world and set the pace
for expansion in the coming years. The founding members would always
have the honor and satisfaction that they had dared to sign-up to an
unknown task and challenge themselves to the limits for unknown rewards
2002 Iowa State University Crew Club Founding members
Oarsmen: Jeff Brown, Darren Breid,
Joel Dunham, Eli Perry,
Jason Franklin, Chris Roberts, Matt Solnitzky,
Brian "Red" Henderson, Stan Welp,
Justin Gumm, Mike Woolley.
Coxswain: Dana Frits
Coach: Chris Kafer
To be continued....
