University sculling awakens in the US

By Melissa Bray

University rowing in the United States is big. Not just big, it’s huge. It consists of nearly 9,000 rowers and the recent growth, especially amongst women’s rowing programmes is unprecedented. The financing is also big. Multi-million dollar boathouses are connected to universities across the country, assisted by a fully professional team of coaches and support staff.

The university rowing programmes, known as crew, come from a tradition based entirely around the eight. Top competitions feature the eight and, only as a second boat, the four. For example the top women’s competition, the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, allows each represented university to enter two eights and a four. It has been going since 1997. The men’s top competition is similar in boat types, but is part of a history going back to 1894.

This focus on eights has paid off for the United States internationally. At present the US holds the World Best Time in both the men’s and women’s eight while the men are the current Olympic Champions and the women the Olympic silver medallists. The women are the current under 23 Champions and the men own the 2006 junior silver medal while the women hold junior bronze.

Mike Knopp with two recruits

So what is a university in a traditionally non-rowing part of the country doing? Oklahoma City University is sculling. Head coach Mike Knopp is breaking the mould and establishing a sculling programme. This is a first for US university rowing. Currently university rowing scholarships are only available in sweep. Knopp will be the first to offer scholarships solely for sculling.

“The idea is we’ve been successful in big boats (internationally), but we want to do better in smaller boats,” says Knopp who is working with USRowing to push sculling.

“In the past university rowers have done sculling on their own,” says Knopp, “in the summer or after they finish university. Some universities scull occasionally but our programme is sculling specific.” Harvard University, for example, has had a sculling programme operating for over 80 years, but it is run outside of the competitive eights programme. 

“We hope to develop our sculling programme into an elite programme and attract rowers from around the nation and even the world.”

Knopp has already recruited the first group – eight athletes – and the programme will start in August this year. The university will continue its sweep programme, but the sculling will follow its own structure.

To find sculling competition Knopp has to look outside the collegiate regatta system. “We won’t go to traditional university races, but to others like the Head of the Charles.” Long term Knopp hopes to change the dynamics of college rowing and increase the opportunities for sculling competition.

Night racing Oklahoma City

Although rowing is reasonably recent to Oklahoma City, the city has embraced it wholeheartedly. The city’s new logo has rowing in the centre of it. The city is also right behind the annual USA Rowing World Challenge aimed at attracting top American Olympic rowers and other international rowers. The Challenge is in October.

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