OCU Rowing: January 2011

Freshmen Cassie Robbins, Rikkie George and Allie Lashmet on the sliders.

Lightweights Jane Imfeld and Kat Schiro on the sliders.

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!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Practice in the New Devon Boathouse

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