By Katy MacDonald
The BYU Rowing Club is struggling to gain BYU affiliation so it can move its practice location to BYU property on Utah Lake.
Senior Shawn Young started the club with a friend in the fall of 2001.
'My dad was a rower in college, and I had friends that rowed,' Young said. 'It was always something I thought was really cool.'
Young grew up in New Jersey. He said he could not believe a school as big and as well known as BYU did not have a rowing team.
'It''s not like we can''t have one, and it''s not like there is a lack of interest,' Young said. 'It just didn''t make sense.'
Annena Peterson, the president elect, became affiliated with the club when her husband brought home a flier. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and like other students, she had to give up rowing to come to BYU.
'I rowed for four years in high school so it was already a big part of my life,' Peterson said.
The rowing club meets during the season on Saturday mornings from 6-11. They drive up to the Great Salt Lake for practice and then all go out to lunch after.
'More than rowing, it was really a social thing,' Young said. 'We would all go out and have fun.'
The dilemma faced by club members is having practice so far away.
'It is an hour and 10 minute drive, and logistically it is really difficult to make it happen,' Young said. 'We can''t go on a regular basis, and the weather is often pretty junky up there.'
Young hopes BYU can sponsor the club so it can move practices and equipment to BYU''s property on Utah Lake.
'If we had a local place to row, I think it would take off,' he said. 'The idea is money. There is so much interest by both students and faculty.'
Young said he talked extensively with BYUSA about sponsoring the club.
'That pretty much flopped. It just didn''t go anywhere,' Young said. 'They are concerned about the liability. They think - water, people - bad combination. That equals drowning and huge lawsuits.'
Young said BYUSA only wants to sponsor clubs that students can participate in on campus. They also want to increase their control over these clubs by decreasing the number of them.
Young said the rowing club would not need any money from BYU because it already has equipment and operating costs are extremely low.
'We''ve got more than what we need in our bank account to keep going for a while,' Young said. 'We just need a place to practice. That''s all.'
Salt Lake Sculling Club President Wendy Whittney provided boats for the club.
Young said Whittney is willing to sign the boats over to the club if the club can get affiliated with BYU.
Each member must pay $40 to be individually insured through the U.S. Rowing Association. There is also a $40 club fee.
'Safety is our highest priority,' Young said. 'If there''s any risk of liability or injury to anyone, the answer is obvious we''re not going to take it.'
There is a clinic offered for people who are interested in joining the club. They must sign a release form before participating. Contact information can be found on the club''s Internet site at www.BYRC.org.
The University of Utah is in the beginning stages of forming a club and recently contacted Young hoping for some competition.
'They called us out, and we''re trying to get it together to train and to beat them this fall,' Young said. 'They''re already sponsored by their school and they''re'' taking off.'
Young graduates this spring with a degree in chemistry. He and his wife will be pursuing masters programs at Brookes University in Oxford, England.
'I just hope I can keep the club going long enough and something will break through,' Young said.
Rowing, commonly referred to as crew, dates back to the 1200s in Venice where rowing races became a spectacle in water festivals.
It was first adopted as a college club sport by Oxford University in London in 1827. Its attractiveness soon spread to neighboring universities.
It came to the United States were Yale, and other Ivy League schools incorporated it as an official sport.