Lightweight News

State of the Team

Ariel Ravid

Team President Elect 2005-2006

During the 2004-2005 season, California Lightweight Crew continued to expand, as has been the trend for the past couple of years. At points during the year, the team held close to 70 athletes, with a larger part of this growth coming from the relatively young women’s squad. The team operated on a budget of over $70,000 for the year, this being composed of member’s dues of $1,000 per rower, team fundraising, and generous alumni donations.

This season witnessed success of the program on a national level, including trips to Head of the Charles, Windermere Crew Classic, the Dad Vail Regatta, and the IRA. By finishing third in the petit final at National Championships, the men’s varsity 8+ established the program as the premiere club lightweight crew team in the country. Through attending and successfully competing in these regattas we hope to show that there is a place for men’s and women’s lightweight crew on the west coast.

While the team saw success on a national level, there were many new and continuing hardships faced at home. In the fall, the squads were effectively split when Jack London Aquatic Center (JLAC) decided not to renew the men’s lease. Faced with the possibility of not having a place to store boats, the team rented space at a dry boat storage facility in Richmond where the men rowed from all year. As this problem is yet to be solved, the coaches are working very hard to rectify the situation, and we will be sure to keep you updated on any new developments.

We are at a turning point in the history of the California Lightweight Crew. With continued expansion of the team’s membership, the acquisition of new equipment, and the continued leadership by the coaching staff, we hope to cement the program as a serious contender at the national level. On behalf of all the athletes and coaches, thank you for supporting California

Lightweight Crew.

Cal Men:

NUmber one in the west,

number nine at IRA Nationals

Rich Lapachet

Men’s Head Coach

To say that the 2004-05 season was much like any other year could not be further from the truth. Every year we face adversity, yet this year it seemed we faced still more than usual. Despite training out of the dry storage lot by the Richmond Marina, the team's goal was to make a successful bid at the IRA regatta.

With early wins over heavyweight crews from UC Davis and Sacramento State in the spring, the season was off to a promising start. One goal of the team was to win the team's first San Diego Crew Classic title since 1975. However, the collegiate men's lightweight event was canceled due to lack of entries. Instead, the team competed in the heavyweight Men's Cal Cup event, finishing 5^th out of 19 teams. At WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association) championships the men were the lone entrant in the lightweight 8+ event and yet again raced in the open weight category. Against a field of 17, the Cal varsity lightweight 8+ again finished 5^th in the grand final. The Bears would be unchallenged for the PCRC trophy (Pacific Coast Rowing Championships) and so they would seek competition on the east coast.

The varsity finally stepped on the scale at the Dad Vail regatta in Philadelphia where they raced a highly respected Boston College crew. The Bears finished second to BC only to be disqualified for having veered from their lane. In the bigger picture, however, this event will be remembered for Scott Laio, the Boston College bowman who died from an apparent heart attack moments after crossing the finish line.

Following the team's return from Philadelphia, the team held a meeting to decide whether to apply for the IRA regatta (Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta, aka the national championships). Once the decision was made to attend, the crew returned to training with much improved focus. At IRA, the Golden Bears finished third in the petite final (9th overall) behind Rutgers and Columbia, while besting the top club teams in the nation – Delaware, Boston College, and Ohio State.

Congratulations are particularly in order to Sam Saylor, Saul Jackman, Greg Moe, and Raymond Chetty, who have all remained on the team for four years. The results attained by this year's varsity would not have been possible without such commitment by the seniors, the rest of the team, and support from our alumni.

NOVICE MEN

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY TO VICTORY

Al Chase

Novice Men’s Coach

With just eight rowers in the squad for the spring races, two of whom had joined in January, the novice men made up for lack of depth with hard work, effective technique and immense determination. Their only lightweight event at WIRA was the novice lightweight 4+. They fought down the course, staying about half a length down on the first place boat almost all the way. The close second place was a heartbreaker, but they used the experience to their advantage at PCRC's where they capped off a good year on a very high note, winning both their races. In the novice lightweight 8+ they clocked a 6:33, cruising over the finish line without a sprint in order to save energy for the next race. Less than an hour later, in the novice lightweight 4+ event, our stern four had a race very similar to their race at WIRA except this time they were the ones who pulled away. They held about a half a length lead over UC Davis nearly the entire race, then walked away in the sprint for a highly satisfying win.

Cal WOMEN:

Varsity Travel East

Novice Beat Stanford

Rich Wendling

Women’s Head Coach

Wow! Hard to believe that another season has just concluded. The Golden Bears finished the season ranked 14th in the country. This year we also saw a deeper competition field as UC Santa Barbara and LMU both fielded lightweight crews.

At the annual Cal-Stanford duel in March the novice 8 again claimed victory over Stanford for the second year in a row. This time, unfortunately, Stanford still had the edge in the varsity 8 and took the gold home. We were also invited back this season to race in the Windermere Cup and unlike last year, this time we raced both the V8 and JV8. The two boat race format of Windemere was an awesome experience for the team. The V8 raced San Diego State, Georgetown and Princeton while the JV 8 raced against Wisconsin, Stanford and Princeton. It is worth noting that the JV8 was really our novice eight. Both boats raced incredibly hard with tremendous effort and confidence and made the team very proud that weekend. Especially exciting was racing head to head with Princeton, the number team in the country at the time.

At San Diego Crew Classic, the V8 raced a hard battle but was edged out by LMU at the end of the race and missed the grand final for the first time in two years. However, the team did rebound the next day to win the petite final. Both the WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships) and PCRC (Pacific Coast Rowing Championships) regattas this year were a final only race that saw the team place a respectful fourth.

For the first time this year we held our awards banquet immediately after the WIRA Championship. Once racing was done we grilled food at the waterside tent, gave out the awards and listened to some good speeches – a very good time was had by all. This year’s awards winners were: Most Inspirational-Jessica Nance, Best overall coxswain-Michelle Cheng, Best Novice Rower-Karen Lu and Best Varsity Rower Brittany Davis. Congratulations to all.

Next season looks to be yet another good one for the Golden Bears. The returning varsity women and the core of the novices group will make for a much stronger and faster team next season. They will combine as a squad with lots of confidence, belief and a very strong work ethic. We are also looking forward to all the walk-ons in the fall that will comprise yet another fast novice team.

We’d like to thank all our supporters and friends of Cal Lightweight Crew for making this another successful season. The team and coaching staff really appreciate all your efforts. We look forward to seeing you all next season.

GO BEARS!

THE SENIOR PERSPECTIVE

by Greg Moe

varsity men 2001-2005

The team has come a long way since I arrived as a freshman. My novice year, I witnessed the first Cal Lightweights PCRC's victory in a long time. Ever since that time, the team has gotten bigger, stronger and faster. I sat bow in the 2003 IRA's boat which placed last in the competition. Although it was an embarrassing performance, it opened my eyes to the speed of east coast crews and what it would take to compete with them.

I then spent the next two years as president of the team, working to bring up the team's and my own standards of rowing. I knew it would take an exceptionally dedicated group of guys to be fast on a national scale. We've gone through many hard times as a crew, but I like to think that only made us closer and faster.

I've never been with such a dedicated group of guys so focused on achieving the same goal. What we were able to achieve makes me incredibly proud to be a part of it all, and I will treasure my time as a lightweight rower at Cal forever.

ADDICTED

by Ashley Connelly

varsity women, 2005

Before a race I would tell my pair, “If you pull harder than me, I’ll pull harder than you.” Your heart is racing at the start line, during a power 10 you would feel the surge in power and anticipate the final 250 meters when you could hear the muffled “Go Bears” on the shore as your boat aims to cross the finish line.

Addicted. That is how a person feels when they are part of our crew team. You are addicted to the power, the strength, the commitment, the dedication that comes with the sport. You are addicted to the rush at the start line, the excitement of walking a boat, the glory of winning. The varsity women’s team may not have had the season that many of us would have wanted, but the girls that finished the season were addicted to the sport. At times we felt like we were out of our league racing against top-notch teams – we were constantly humbled. But that made our team so much stronger. I am amazed at the dedication that I discovered in all of my teammates. Most people do not realize that our team is a group of kids that pay their own way to wake up at 4:30 in the morning, to sit in a boat, take erg tests, and work out twice a day.

The women’s team is growing stronger every year. If we can keep attracting girls to the team that have as much dedication as those during this past season, the team will continue making a name for ourselves. We are also excited to add a new woman to our coaching staff who is a recent graduate of UC Davis. The women’s team has much potential and we are full of determination to realize it in the coming season.

Alumni Involvement

With this second edition of the team newsletter and the second annual Alumni Day held this past March, the alumni effort is moving along. Every month an alumnus or two stumble on the team’s website and subsequently end up on the ever-growing alumni email list. This past fall, when the team was first dealing with its housing crisis (see “Boathouse Situation” article), the email list was very useful in getting timely advice and perspective. When the varsity men came in 9^th at the IRA national championships, the list allowed alumni to immediately show their support by pledging over $4,000 for next year’s travel to the east coast (see “Fundraising” article). This sum will now be used as a great starting point for next year’s Alumni Day fundraising (see “Alumni Day” article).

To help determine what the alumni would like to happen, a meeting between several alumni and the team took place on October 31^st of 2004. While the complete notes are available at www.cal-ligthweights.org/alumni.htm, some excerpts are presented in the article “Alumni Fall Meeting.”

The emotional support you can show by attending team events is just as important as the financial contributions. Check out the team’s tentative 2005-2006 calendar at the end of the newsletter.

Alumni Day 2005

Despite a tropical storm passing earlier in the day, the second annual Alumni Day on March 19^th 2005 went off very well. Together with their friends and family, over thirty alumni helped cement this as an annual tradition. Though turnout was not expected to match that of the 2004 event, attendance increased from both the post 2000 and the 1970’s eras. The event was again held on the second floor of the Jack London Aquatic Center (JLAC) and the race started at Coast Guard Island and ended at JLAC.

The weather cleared up just in time for the "1990s Decade" boat to win the 1000 meter Alumni Challenge Cup. Coming in second and third were the "2000 Decade" and the "1970s-1980s Decades" boats, respectively. The lineups were (not in perfect seating order):

“1990’s Decade”	“2000 Decade”	“70s-80s Decade”
A. Davidovitz	S. Josefowitz	Dan Bach
Kevin Scully	Stuart Sievers	G. Serventi
Matthew White	H. McFarlane	T. Ahlering
Virgil Curtis	Igor Pesenson	S. Azevedo
Rich Lee	S. Saylor (CR)	Robert Gunn
Ian Formigle	Evan Morris	T. Grossman
A. Ravid (CR)	Chris Ling	Dan Allari
C. Tharp (CR)	Greg Moe (CR)	R.Alexander
Lori Lee	Megan Klein	Tom Tiffany Jeremy Fish

Above: Alumni Day 2005 boats

Notation ‘CR’ denotes current rowers who filled in. Please note that the “1970s-1980s” boat was the only boat without a current team member filling in. Also, the ambiguity in the “70s-80s” column of ten names for nine seats was the result of messy notes taken during the event.

Almost $5000 was raised to send the team to the IRA national championships this year. The “Top Donor Boat” medals were won by the “1970s-1980s Decades” boat for raising $1540. A belated $1000 donation from Miles Cooper, as well as a number of smaller checks mailed, helped to bring the total to over $6000. As you can tell from the team results summarized above, the money was well spent.

Mark your calendars! The third annual Alumni Day will take place on Saturday, March 18^th 2006 at the Oakland Estuary. Please make sure you are on the alumni email list for detailed information.

You can view both the 2004 and 2005 Alumni Day slide shows from the alumni section of the team webpage, www.cal-lightweight.org

Alumni Fall meeting

To help determine what the alumni and the team would like to see in an organizing effort a meeting between representatives from both took place on October 31^st of 2004. You can view the complete notes online at www.cal-ligthweights.org/alumni.htm or read the highlights below.

With beers in hand a consensus was reached and the consensus was: the alumni would first like to see the organizational effort prove itself over time. There is still a lot of, not undue, suspicion that it might disappear as suddenly as it came about. Until people are convinced that semblance of an alumni organization is here to stay more ambitious ideas are doomed. Holding the annual alumni day for three or four years in a row appeared to be a good first step in earning this trust. According to Jerry Serventi, 98% of alumni are not interested in more than one event per year, if that. Once there is confidence in the stability of the organization, it will become possible to strategize on a longer time scale. The 2% of the over-enthusiastic alums will step out of the shadows and lead the way… or something like that. The beer was particularly good.

Jeremy Fish pointed out that alums want specific fundraising goals so that they can look forward to a letter saying “your donation allowed us to do such and such.” It was suggested to set up an ability to accept credit card donations on the team’s web site. This was judged to be a good idea as it would allow people to click on different icons, each associated with a different fundraising cause and linked to separate Swiss bank accounts to make tracking easier. One would be for sending the teams to nationals, one for “a new boat every three years” campaign, one for the Martz fund (the endowment), one to endow a coaching position, etc. The possibilities seemed truly endless. Unfortunately, it was later realized that although the university boasts of one of the best computer science departments in the country, it does not have the ability to process donations on line. The implication is that any donations would not be tax deductible and hence the idea was not as hot as we thought.

It was also noted that to avoid upsetting people and their inboxes, we should for now stick to two or so alumni communications per year. And, of course, to give venue to the 2% of overactive alums, there should be an annual planning meeting in October of every year. The 2005 Alumni Fall Organizational Meeting will be Sunday, October 30^th, 2005. The idea is still to meet over beers in the bay area, though the idea of a phone conference is being entertained.

Send them east

Although 60% of the annual budget comes from student fees, alumni fundraising of the last few years has been a great help to the program. The proceeds from the 2004 alumni day padded last year’s budget and helped the varsity men purchase their second racing shell in two years. During the October 2004 meeting the issue of west coast competition was brought up. While the pacific coast is slowly increasing its roster of women’s lightweight programs, the opposite is happening with men’s programs. To enable the program to get faster, and to give alumni effort a tangible goal, it was decided that donations from the 2005 alumni day were to be earmarked for East Coast team travel. This turned out to be vital – the varsity boat was unchallenged at the Pacific Coast Championships and ended up making two trips to the east coast. Following the disappointing disqualification from second place at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, the program came back to get third at the IRA petite finals three weeks later.

Although the lady bears did not venture east in the spring, they did so in the fall with a trip to the Head of the Charles Regatta. The entire trip was generously paid for by a loyal team patron and as a result alumni moneys raised in the spring went almost exclusively to cover the men’s travel. However, although the men could not have made the trips without the extra $6,000, they still had to pay for part of the cost out of their own pockets.

Following their stellar performance at the IRA national championships, alumni enthusiasm peaked. After all, if our program comes in just one second behind such fully cash loaded programs as Columbia University, just imagine what they could do with serious support. It was resolved that in spring 2006, the goal of the program should be to send its boats east without penny counting. To achieve this the following alumni have pledged and sent it funds so far,

Up to $400	$400 - $1000	$1000
Eric Scriven 80s	S. Seivers 00s	R. Gunn 80s
D. Van Vuren 70s	Jeremy Fish 80s
D. Carmack 80s	Tom Moyer 80s
Ian Formigle 90s	Scott Brady 80s
H. Wang 90s	R. LeClair 00s
E. Kaneko 90s

These funds provide a solid start for next year’s fundraising before the season has even started. Please consider joining them in enabling the program to reach its potential. Enclosed you should find a form you can fill out and mail in with your tax-deductible contribution.

For those who supported your team this year and have any questions about your donations, please feel free to email Igor Pesenson at igorp@cal.berkeley.edu . Although the university has been very slow in processing donations as of late, all of you should have received a thank you letter and a tax receipt for your records.

Boathouse Situation

As you might already know, the team is facing a difficult housing situation. Since the demolition of the old Oakland Strokes boathouse in 2000, the team had been rowing out of the Jack London Aquatic Center (JLAC) on the Oakland Estuary. Despite high rent, the facility provided a comfortable and respectable home for the team.

In August 2004, with a space a significant concern, JLAC decided to only house our women’s program. After a frantic search, the men located a 70’x30’ space for rent in an open dirt parking lot in the Richmond marina. Although one could not judge this from their results, they proceeded to row the entire 2004-2005 season out of this uncovered, unpaved, unlit site. The on-going search by the team officers for a roof for the 2005-2006 season has just been put into more urgent terms: the city of Richmond has sold the parking lot and the team will have to vacate it by December 2005.

The tactile problems such as protecting equipment from the elements and cold, wet, dark February mornings are not the only issues with the current set up. The administrative challenge of running an effectively split program was stressful for both the officers and the coaching staff.

In the long term, there is reason to be optimistic. The Oakland Strokes, who our program has had a very good relationship for ten years, have received a multi-million dollar grant from the state to build a new boathouse. The boathouse will be located on the Oakland side of the estuary, south of the High Street Bridge. They have expressly asked the Cal Lightweights to join them in their new home and the team has every intention of doing so. However, projected move in date will realistically be in Fall 2007. Until then, other arrangements will have to be found.

Fall 2005 racing schedule

This is a tentative fall race schedule for the program. You can also view it from the team’s website. If you plan to attend any of these, please double check the details by email.

Oct. 22,23 Head of the Charles (women)

Oct. 29 Head of the American, Sac.

Oct. 30 Alumni Fall Meeting

Nov. 5 USC Men’s Club Eights (men)

Nov. 6 Newport Fall Regatta (both)

March 18 Alumni Day 2006

All alumni events are coordinated via email – please make sure you are on the alumni email list to receive further details. Email igorp@cal.berkeley.edu

THANK YOU

Thank you for taking the time to read this first printed edition of the newsletter. We hope we are making headway towards supporting the team while providing a venue for alumni to stay in touch. Just as you are interested in who the current athletes are, they are interested in you, the foundations of this program. To prove to them that however sad, there is life after crew, consider writing a paragraph or two about yourself for the next newsletter. Email your thoughts, suggestions, or complaints to igorp@cal.berkeley.edu .