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"Karen rowed for what the venerable American shell builder George Pocock called `the
symphony of motion.' As dawn breaks over the river, the shell is lifted from its rack out into
the morning. On another rack the oars hang ready to be greased and slipped into the locks. Then,
awakened to the river and the feel of the oars, the oarsmen blend in fulfillment of the shell. The
symphony is not of competition. It is the synchronous motion over water, the harmonic flexing of
wood and muscle, where each piece of equipment and every oarsman is both essential to, and
the limit of motion itself."
--Stephen Kiesling
UChicago Crew
2008 Manual, Compendium and Bible of All Things Rowing
"Real Athletes row. Everyone else just plays games."
Welcome
Welcome to the University of Chicago Crew, and thanks for expressing interest in our corner of
the athletics world. Crew, while not obscure, is by no means mainstream. We’re certainly not
baseball or football. However, we can offer something more than any of those sports, should
you choose to commit yourself to this sport. Crew is the very definition of a team sport. You will
row in a boat with one, three, or seven companions, and if you do not row with them, in time and
together, you not be successful. In any other sport you will have your “star” players, those select
few who will always make the big plays and catches; here, if anyone tries to strike out on their
own, again, they will fail. Your will also come to rely upon your teammates more than you ever
had to before, because it is their drive which will propel you when you think you can’t go any
farther, when you’re gasping and can’t catch your breath, when you’re more tired and in more
pain than you’ve ever been before—they will keep you moving and you will find a depth of will
you didn’t know you possessed. Crew is by no means an easy sport; it will test you physically
and mentally, but it is one of the most rewarding. Feel free to read through these pages to learn
about this sport, and don’t hesitate to ask your fellow rower about anything contained within,
whether they’re your roommate, best friend, son, daughter, or classmate.
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