Rowing in snowfall or shine, the Rowing Club at Michigan Tech takes advantage of their proximity to the Portage, and as much nice weather as they can get in the fall. They practice until about the end of October, when there might be snow, and travel to compete in regattas across the Midwest. In recent years, they have frequented Minneapolis (The Mississippi River) and Lansing (The Grand River) to compete against robust varsity rowing teams, even as a student-led club sport. This year they added two regattas in Iowa to the schedule, which are new to many of the current team members.
This is no small undertaking for a club and its team members – rowing is both an expensive and intensive team sport; members must work together to fund and teach the sport to novices each year. The team is known for their early morning practices that start at 5 a.m. This time is optimal for weather conditions and the student athletes’ schedules.
Off the water they also volunteer in the community with Rent-a-Rower, do odd jobs for locals, and set up dine-and-donate events with local restaurants, most notably Soumi’s.
This Saturday, Sep. 21, the team will host their annual scrimmage with the Northern Michigan University Rowing Club. It will take place in the morning, at 7 a.m., and best viewing will be from the East Houghton Waterfront Park and at Prince’s Point.
