By: Lydia Guffey, Bulldog Blitz
Samford Crew is a student-led club team that competes with collegiate rowing clubs all over the country. The team is open to all Samford students, whether you are an experienced
The team will be welcoming new members or, “
Competition Schedule
The team participates in two regattas, or rowing races, per semester. In the fall, Samford Crew travels to Nashville, Tennessee for the Music City Head Race, and Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Head of the Hooch Regatta. In the spring, the team will visit Nashville again, as well Clemson, South Carolina for the Clemson Sprints Collegiate and Masters Regatta.
The regattas held in the fall are
Regattas held in the spring are 2,000 meters and are held with a “cold start.” All team boats are held in boxes and are counted down to start at the same time, similar to a horse race.
Samford Crew Team generally participates in the Women’s 4x (four rowers per boat) and Mixed Boat (two women and two men per boat) divisions. With Samford’s 67% female population, it is not often that there are enough race-ready men on the team to participate in men’s divisions, but they hope to participate in the Men’s 4x divisions whenever possible.
New Members’ Experiences
“Crewbies” do not generally participate in races during their first semester on the team, but instead learn the ropes and begin conditioning.
Most new members have no experience in rowing when they begin, so senior members work together to teach beginners. “We will put in the time and effort to teach you if you’re willing to put in the time to learn,” said president of Samford Crew and senior nursing major, Rachel Baioni.
Samford Crew holds one conditioning practice each week and meets on the water at Lake Purdy two to three times per week (weather permitting).
“It’s not so much that the technique is that hard, but the conditioning can be tough,” said Baioni.
While the team has not had a coach for several years, the appointed workout director conducts conditioning practices and leads senior members in teaching new rowers. This position is currently held by senior accounting major Colin Hube.
“[Colin] has put in a lot of time and effort into learning really, really good technique and he loves to teach that,” said Baioni. “He has such an eye for the little things when correcting people.”
As a club team for an uncommon sport, acquiring interest can sometimes be difficult for Samford Crew. Even so, interest is picking up for the Fall 2023 season. “We’ve had a really good turnout of interest so far, so it’s really exciting,” said Baioni. “It’ll be really interesting on Monday to see how many people we get and how many people stay.”
Samford Crew Tryouts will be held in the Seibert Loft on September 19-21 at 6 p.m. each day. Visit @samford_crew on Instagram or email rbaioni@samford.edu for more information.
