University Rowing Club hits the water

Eight months after a $10,000 crew boat was found at UM, the reborn University Rowing Club has finally taken to the water.

The team held its first real, in-water practice at Salmon Lake State Park east of Missoula. Last month a three-day camp, organized by the club, gave rowers a chance to put months of practice on rowing machines and physical training to the test.

The boat found last winter is a 40-foot, four-man boat, and club faculty adviser Jim McKusick said a 60-foot, eight-man boat is on loan to the club from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

McKusick said the club has 20 active participants, both men and women, who are dedicated to building a successful club.

“They were practicing three days a week in the spring at 6:30 in the morning,” McKusick said.

Club members held multiple practices over the weekend on Salmon Lake to familiarize themselves with the boats and practice rowing techniques. McKusick said they constructed a wooden rack to store the second, larger boat at a facility on the lake.

Until 2000, UM boasted a rowing club, which was coached by a former Olympian in crew, McKusick said. After that group disbanded, the UM Rowing Club -- and the boat -- disappeared until the boat was happened upon accidentally in
January 2006.

McKusick said at the initial meeting to form a team about 40 people showed up, many of them students in the Davidson Honors College.

“There’s a historical connection between crew and honors colleges,” McKusick said.

But not all members belong to the college, nor do they have to. And McKusick said experience with the sport is not necessary.
“Most college crew teams have people who have never been in a boat,” he said. “The overwhelming majority of the team has no experience.”

While the club is not yet scheduled to participate in any regattas, McKusick said the goal is for them to compete around the region this fall or after breakup in spring at the very latest.

“A long-term goal is to get a regatta at Salmon Lake,” he said. “Part of the reason for the loan from Gonzaga was that they were looking for some competition.”

Students interested in joining the UM Rowing Club can contact the Davidson Honors College at 406-243-2541 to set up an appointment with McKusick to get involved.