University of Virginia Library

Crew Club Much Improved

In the autumn of 1876, Francis
H. Rives offered to finance what
was to become one of the most
phenomenal clubs in the history of
University athletics. With Rives'
$1000 check and a committee of
five students, the Rives Boat Club
was born in March, 1877. Thus
began the University of Virginia
crew, a club that was to achieve
meteoric success, recover from a
flood which swept away their boat
house and boats, and finally go into
a state of dormancy for over eighty
years.

The Rives Boat Club, while it
existed, compiled a nearly lossless
record, counting even mighty Yale
among its beaten foe. It was this
tradition that Steve Plott, a
first-year man from Washington and
Lee High School, sought to resume
at the University in the spring of
1967. And with the help of
contributions from students,
alumni, and interested citizens in
the community, the Rives Boat
Club was reincarnated in the form
of the University of Virginia
Rowing Association.

Since its inception the new club
has been met with the same kind of
enthusiasm which enabled the
original crew to advance so far and
so quickly. A Board of Stewards,
comprised of interested citizens and
a University representative, as well
as the coach and captain of the
crew, handles the business dealings
of the club.

The raising of funds is handled
by the oarsmen themselves and
depends primarily upon student
support. Last year the club raised
about $800 in a raffle, collected
over $1500 in dues, and received a
stipend of $1500 from the Student
Council Activities Fund. In
addition, gifts from local citizens
and unknown parties have aided in
keeping the crew on the water.

Scheduling, training, and the
competition itself is strictly the
coach's and crew members'
responsibility. All correspondence
with other crews is directly from
the club, with no aid or
interference from the athletic
department. In short, the crew is
independent in every way and
prides itself on its accomplishments
in that capacity.

As many people have surely
noted, there has been a surge of
scholastic crew popularity and
ability in Northern Virginia.
Washington and Lee High School
has been a school-boy
championship contender for years,
but in addition, crews at Yorktown,
Fort Hunt, Jeb Stuart, and other
area high schools have recently
been formed. Their success may be
seen in Jeb Stuart's victory at
Henley for the world school-boy
championships. Where will these
oarsmen take up collegiate rowing?

It is with sheer optimism that the
Virginia Crew views its future. With
over seventy participants this year,
including over thirty first-year men,
crew has become one of the
University's largest sports.
Freshman Coach Leo Kayser feels
Virginia could have one of the
fastest freshman crews in the
country this year. The varsity
expects to finish in the finals of the
Dad Vail intercollegiate
championships for small colleges.
The following years seem to hold
more promise still.

Crew has a picturesque history
and has undergone a remarkable
recovery. But it is not the past that
this University activity reveres and
relishes, it is rather the future.
When Yale comes to row this
spring, they will find a crew faster
and smoother than the one they
practiced with last year, and the
exhibition rows should show keener
competition still in the following
seasons.