By Becca Leclerc '10
Contributing Writer
For most college students, willingly getting up at 6 a.m. is something unimaginable. For 50 students at Wellesley, that is considered sleeping in. Six mornings a week these student-athletes board a bus at 4:30 to travel to the Charles River where they practice their strokes, working to become the fastest crew on the water. The coxswains keep them in unison, matching the catch, drive, and recovery of each rower to those of the one behind her. Because the rowers face the stern of the boat they usually can't see what lies ahead in the race, so they depend on the coxswains instructions. For Wellesley Crew the past two years have been full of uncertainty, and until this spring, the team, did not know what its future held.
Rowers practice early in the morning before classes on the Charles River. Morning practices are often held on the Charles River.
In previous years, Wellesley's crew team as well as teams from several other institutions had stored their boats in the Community Rowing Inc. (CRI) boathouse, a converted ice rink. In the fall of 2006, the College was informed that CRI would be charging their tenants $1 million to build a new boathouse – the last boathouse to be built on the Charles. Wellesley began a search for a new place to row, first taking to Lasell College, and then at additional bodies of water in the area. The seniors of 2007 organized a meeting with former president Diana Chapman Walsh where they learned how little effort the College was putting into finding a solution. Although it was frustrating for the team to have their future so uncertain, they trusted that the problem would be resolved.
"I knew [Coach] Tessa and the administration had it all under control. It was so helpful knowing that people were working tirelessly for us, even if we didn't know the specifics of what they were doing," said co-captain Ashley Morris '08. In the summer of 2007, CRI vacated their former boathouse and Newton Country Day, an all-girls school in the area, purchased the facility for use as an ice rink. Walsh began negotiations with the school and President Kim Bottomly continued the work. In the fall the agreement became final, and a 25-year contract between Newton Country Day School and Wellesley allowed the College to renovate a small building that resides on the property for use as a boathouse. Until then, the College will use the same rink they had used with CRI as their storage facility. This, says co-captain Allison Broadwater '09, is one of the best parts of the new boathouse. "It's ideal because we don't have to change our routine, we know the boathouse, the river, and don't have to acclimate to anything new," she said.
Unfortunately the negotiations weren't completed in time for the fall season, so the team spent two months rowing on Lake Waban. "It was frustrating but gave us an opportunity to step back and reevaluate our technique," Kate Spelman '10 said.
"We adapted our training, and tried to hit it as aggressively as we would on the river, but we did it in short sprints, not long pieces, and incorporated a lot of off-water running and lifting," added Broadwater. Training on campus had its benefits, especially the lack of a bus ride to the river and more personal training from the coaches. "On the Charles it's crowded so there's not a lot of time to stop. Here it was nice to have our own space because we could take the time to adjust our technique," said Spelman.
One of the greatest challenges for the team was the length of the lake. While Waban is about 1000 meters long, the majority of the fall races, including the Head of the Charles Regatta, are about 5000 meters. To acclimate to the distance the team held Saturday practices on the Charles. Hannah Dornbusch '10 described the experience as a mental adjustment. "I think we were all a little hesitant about how we would adjust back to a solid 5000-meter race from the subdivided practice," she said. "But once we got a practice in on the Charles, we knew we'd be fine."
Throughout the fall the team was curious about where they would be rowing in the spring, but they were kept in the dark. In fact, the team was not informed of the final plan until the middle of February, a decision that was frustrating, but understandable. "Tessa assured us that we would be rowing somewhere in the spring, and we all trust Tessa, so I think we were just anxious to find out where we would be," said Dornbusch. The final decision was unexpected but very exciting, especially since many of the rowers thought they would be rowing out of another team's boathouse.
"We were always pressed for time once we reached the boathouse because we had to launch before the other teams. It wasn't really a place we could call our own. We're so happy and grateful to have our own space," said Dornbusch.
"The administration worked very hard on this, and it's a better result than I'd hoped for. It's our own space, and we don't need to ‘make the best' of a situation anymore," added Spelman.
For the seniors, the boathouse illustrates the potential for this team whose legacy they have helped cultivate in their years of dedication.
"I have loved watching how the team has grown and changed since my first year and this boathouse means that I'm not the only one who has noticed. It means that we won't have to worry about being homeless, nor will we feel like we're rowing on someone else's territory," said Morris.
This spring, the Crew team is back on the Charles. Their boathouse will not be fully renovated for awhile, but thanks to Jack Daigle, Dave Martin, and the rest of the maintenance staff, the team can safely store their boats and oars in the same facility they used exactly a year ago. And this spring, there is no uncertainty about their future.
"Having a boathouse gives us the security and the means to further develop the program. We have been focusing a lot of our attention on moving forward and up a boathouse allows us to feel like we are not struggling to keep our program afloat," said Gabriella Wakeman '10. This morning, 50 Wellesley students woke up before dawn to board a bus to take them to their boathouse on the Charles River, where they spent 2 hours practicing in the chill of New England's "spring." At the end of the week, they will take a bus to Georgia to continue their training in weather above 50 degrees.