World Champions Rowing as College Freshmen?
DA Staff on 25 April 2010 by Annie E.
While the sport of crew is less popular in west coast high schools, it becomes extremely competitive in the collegiate level. College crew coaches do not only recruit the best senior rowers from all over the country, but often even venture into international recruitment. This competitive recruiting is very common in most collegiate sports, but with crew, Washington University has taken it to the next level. While most college teams are within the NCAA, or the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division I men’s crew has its own association- the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA). The rules of this division define a freshmen athlete as a person who is in their first year of college in the United States. With Americans, this seems straightforward and reasonable, but what about rowers recruited internationally? There are no age or experience limits, so an adult world champion from another country could row against 19 year-olds just out of high school. An example of this is in Washington University’s freshman crew program.
Last year, Washington’s freshman boat won at IRAs, the national championship. Looking at their roster, 3 rowers come from outside of the US, and 2 have rowed and medaled on the German national team at the World Rowing Championships. These rowers are 22-years old and obviously have significantly more experience than most of their opposition. Many schools and smaller athletic conferences have rules against the recruiting of athletes, and allowing them to compete on freshman teams. Take the Ivy League for example, which does not allow athletic scholarships. Looking at the results from last years freshman championship race, Washington got first place by a large margin, and 2nd and 3rd places were awarded to Harvard University and Brown University, respectively. Who knows whom the winner would have been if Washington recruited its athletes with the same rules as many other competitive crew programs?
Just to be clear, I have no negative sentiments towards Washington University and its students. It is a great school and overall has a great athletic program. My only issue is with the looseness of their recruiting policy, and I wish that they would put themselves on a more even playing field with their competitors.
Taylor Lautner Workout…
Also you might wanna’ check out this blog I found here……
Hey {this is a|this can be a|it is a} {real|actual} cool {website|web site}…
Hey I discovered this website to be actually interesting! Bookmarked!…
Awesome Site!…
… Our daily blog post of the day! Check it out and feel free to comment….
Follow Blog Readers:…
Check out this post! It is worth reading!…
Evergreen…
Wow, superb weblog layout! How long have you been running a blog for? you made blogging glance easy. The whole look of your web site is wonderful, neatly as the content!…
The Lake House…
There is a beautiful recovery center on a lake… so peaceful and serene!…
Evergreen…
Wow, fantastic weblog layout! How lengthy have you been blogging for? you made running a blog glance easy. The total glance of your site is great, neatly as the content material!…
Evergreen…
Wow, marvelous weblog format! How long have you ever been blogging for? you made running a blog glance easy. The full glance of your web site is magnificent, neatly as the content!…
Evergreen…
Wow, amazing weblog layout! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you make running a blog glance easy. The entire look of your web site is fantastic, as smartly the content!…
Went Online Today…
I saw this really great post today:…
Hi,…
you may have an incredible blog right here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?…
Hi,…
There are some interesting closing dates in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them middle to heart. There’s some validity but I’ll take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more!…
Nice Site…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Smart People Out There…
The original article here:…
Check this out:…
Check out this amazing posting!…
Do you have {cell phone|mobile phone}?…
I don’t know what kind but there is one kind that I love more then others and it’s the zune phone, Microsoft cell phone….
Nice Site…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Great Post Here:…
This is worth reading!…
Nice Site…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Hi,…
very good submit, i certainly love this web site, carry on it. It’s laborious to search out educated people on this subject, however you sound like you know what you’re speaking about! Thanks…
Check out this good read…
Bloggers: Check this out…
Hi,…
The next time I learn a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I do know it was my choice to learn, but I really thought youd have something attention-grabbing to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about one thing tha…
Hi,…
The following time I learn a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I mean, I do know it was my choice to learn, however I actually thought youd have one thing interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about someth…
how to make money online…
This is a very informative website and provides the sort of content I want to share more with my readers. I think linking back to your site will provide great long term value….
benidorm hotels…
What a really informative post, I have been looking for this sort of quality content to provide to my readers….