Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Where RIT Crew Began
RIT crew is still a fairly new team. Founded in 1993 by Jim Bodenstedt and a group of dedicated individuals. A crew is probably the most expensive team to put together. You need a boat, enough oars, enough rowers, a coxswain, and a coach. Of course a place to put the boat and oars is preferable. And usually you need a dock, or some shallow still water. And don't forget a motorized boat for the coach. There are a lot of expenses as you can see. But the dedicated individuals that started the RIT crew raised the money. They went out every weekend on Sunday, after all the parties, and collected cans. Most of the time the owners of the cans were too hung over to realize they were being robbed of their trash. This went on for months, load after load of smelly cans in the back of Jim Bodenstedt's little Subaru, until they had enough money to buy a boat. It wasn't the best boat. It was another team's used boat that they were getting rid of, but it was a boat. It was properly named the 5 Cent Return. The "Return" as it is called today buy the team is the heaviest boat RIT owns. It is never used for races anymore, because they have better faster boats. But every year in the fall Jim takes the novice rowers out in the Return. It has a wide hull making it easy to balance or set in the water. It is a "clunker". A boat that way too old to be used for anything other than practice. But its sentimental value to RIT crew makes it irreplaceable. Today RIT crew is one of the most competitive teams in New York. Proving so this year by having their two women's boats win, their varsity men get third, and novice men place fourth at the New York State Championships.
# posted by Anonymous @ 7:08 PM 
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We had a boat just like that on my collegiate crew at UNC. A big, wide, wooden boat (a Schoenbrod) that we called the "Dragon." Mostly used for novices, we did have to race it a few times when we didn't have enough boats.
Also, thanks for the link! And, it's best not to say "crew team." Crew means team. Either say "rowing team" or just "crew." They'll know what you mean.
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Also, thanks for the link! And, it's best not to say "crew team." Crew means team. Either say "rowing team" or just "crew." They'll know what you mean.
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