OCU Rowing: December 2009

Friday, December 11, 2009

Pics from Dec. 5 USRowing Camp

Thursday, December 10, 2009

SAAC Collects 2000 Food Items

The Student Athlete Advisory Committee of OCU collected over 2000 food items for their annual holiday food drive. This year's collection doubles the amount of items from last year's food drive. When addressing the SAAC, Athletic Director, Jim Abbott stated, "I can't being to tell you how proud I am of your efforts. I truly believe that this will help folks less fortunate than us and I am reminded that I am truly priveleged to work with and for all of you." I could not have said it better, Jim!

Student-athlete representatives from each sport come together once a month as the SAAC to guide teams on becoming Champions of Character and to promote varsity athletics on the OCU campus. The representatives for the rowing team are Kyle Adair, Jared Hooley, Kathryn Schiro and Megan Duffy (pictured 3rd from the left in the back row).

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

MAPS passes

At 9:30 pm yesterday December 8th, the final numbers were counted, and it was official: MAPS passed. A record number of voters turned out for a local election and passed the initiative with 54% in favor. OCU and the OKC rowing and boathouse communities are excited about the capital improvements that will be constructed OKC and on the Oklahoma River including a whitewater park, a lighted race course, grandstands and a wind wall.

I want to personally thank all the OCU rowers for their work in promoting MAPS. Rowers went about town placing yard signs, canvassing door-to-door, and spreading the word of MAPS to the community. The OCU Rowers were so committed to the movement that Edgar Boitmanis even exclaimed, "I will have to move back to Latvia if MAPS does not pass." Good thing is passed, Edgar! I am proud of all of our rowers for believing in the Oklahoma River and Oklahoma City and investing themselves in a political campaign- a real-life political science lesson.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Vote YES! for MAPS today

All OCU rowers, friends and family who are registered to vote in OKC: Today is the day, when as a community, we will decide to continue to move our city forward by voting YES! for MAPS.

If you live in OKC, you know what MAPS is all about. I did not know about MAPS until 28 months ago when I first moved to Oklahoma. I have lived in San Diego, LA, SF Bay, Seattle, Montana, NJ, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Georgia and Miami, but I have not been prouder of any of my "hometowns" more than I am of Oklahoma City. Quite simply, this is the only city in the world that is as passionate about rowing as I am.

If you row or if love a rower, vote YES! today.

Regatta Schedule

OCU Head of the Oklahoma -
September 29-October 2
http://oklahomariverevents.org/oklahoma-regatta-festival

Head of the Charles Regatta - October 22-23
http://hocr.org/

Head of the Hooch - November 5-6
http://www.headofthehooch.org/

Heart of Texas Regatta - March 3-4
www.austinrowing.org/heart_of_texas.php

San Diego Crew Classic - March 31-April 1
http://www.crewclassic.org/

Stroklahoma, Women vs University of Central Oklahoma - April 7

Southeast Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (SIRA's) - April 14-15
http://www.siraregatta.com/

Women vs University of Tulsa - April 21

Oklahoma City University Regatta - April 28

Dad Vail Regatta - May 11-12
http://www.dadvail.org/

History - Approaching our 10 year anniversary

OCU Rowing was founded as a club sport in 2000 as the first collegiate rowing program in Central Oklahoma. Mike Knopp launched the club program with the support of Ray Ackerman, an OCU trustee and community stakeholder who lead successful efforts to redevelop Oklahoma City's riverfront and rename the North Canadian River as it passes through Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma River.

Following three years of success as a club, the university elevated the program to varsity status for both men and women in 2003 to coincide with the development of the Chesapeake Boathouse. The varsity program launched to immediate success, attracting excellent students from across the country who earned victories on the water at regattas across the nation as well as in the classroom.

OCU Rowing launched the ground-breaking Head of the Oklahoma regatta in 2004 that became the most attended sporting event in OCU history. The regatta successfully introduced night racing to the sport in America and has become one of the premier regattas in the nation. Last year the regatta attracted over 53,000 spectators and 1,400 athletes from top programs across the nation.

OCU continued to innovate, launching the nation's first exclusive varsity sculling program for men and women in 2007. The program has attracted and is producing some of the nation's top collegiate scullers. The program is on track to develop athletes who will find success on the national team and in international competition.

The next big development for OCU Rowing is the Devon Boathouse, currently under construction. The Devon Boathouse will be among the finest boathouses in the world with the most innovative training center and tank facilities. It will serve as the centerpiece to the new USRowing High Performance Training Center in Oklahoma City. With so much momentum and excitement built in just 10 years, we look forward to what the next 10 years will bring OCU Rowing as we continue to attract tremendous student athletes, fans, and supporters. As our first decade of rowing taught us at OCU - anything is possible with vision, hard work, support, and persistence!