The glow from the rising sun reflects off the sleek rowing shells (boats) as they glide on the Mississippi River. The eight blades connected to the boat slice through the water uniformly, propelling the shell forward and splashing tiny droplets of water onto the river's surface.

What is the source of strength behind this powerful-moving object? This tough core is comprised of Macalester men motivated enough to get up to row during the chilly mornings six days a week starting at 5:15 A.M. (save Saturdays, when they can "sleep in" until 9:15). While still a club, Mac rowers have been the quiet force in Mac Recreational Sports and Athletics.

Mac crew-- and especially Mac men's crew— has improved tremendously over the past few years, reaching levels of competition high enough to be able to compete and perform well in such high-profile regattas as the Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass. and Midwestern Sprints in Madison, Wisc. However, rowing still remains a club sport at Macalester. Macalester only receives about $10,000- $15,000, about half of which is alumnispending, to use for crew a year, which must cover coach, travel and boat expenses. This is not enough. The limiting budget and non-varsity status level causes each rower to contribute an average of $250 a year ($150 of their own money and $100 through fundraising) to keep the team running. In addition, the lack of varsity status limits the team in the purchase of new boats and other needed equipment, and also curtails their ability to recruit high-school rowers.

According to Macalester Athletic Director Irv Cross, there are no plans in the next few years to add either the men's or women's team as a varsity sport. However, if the athletic office were faced with the unlikely possibility of either adding men's or women's crew to their list of intercollegiate sports sometime in the future, women's rowing would come out on top. "The women are definitely a priority," Cross said.

Men's captain Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg '03 sees things differently. "I would love it if both teams were varsity, but the women aren't at a varsity level yet," he said. Women's team Captain Katie Giroux '05 agrees. "We have had improvements in our practice commitment this year, but the men's team has really dedicated members and they compete more. I definitely think that their team is more ready than we are to become varsity," she said.

The dim future for Macalester crew has particularly disappointed several of the rowers on the men's crew team who have worked hard to raise Mac Crew to a high competition level and put in hundreds of hours of practice each season to compete in regattas.

With the addition of women's water polo last year, Macalester now has one more women's intercollegiate sport than men's, so the prospect of adding yet another women's sport may seem backwards to some. According to Cross, Title IX regulations stipulate that the ratio of male to female athletes at a school must reflect the institution's gender balance. The fall 2002 enrollment statistics note a 58 percent female and 42 percent male student population. "We want to look at the student body and aim towards that- It's a moving target," Cross said.

Urevick-Ackelsberg stated a problem with this goal. "I realize that there's more women at Macalester already but there's some women's teams that can't play with a full squad or have a minimal number of people, such as tennis and basketball," he said.

Cross also cited the fact that the athletic office is "looking for areas which have sustained female interest." Cross added that "there is not enough interest in the men's team." However, the women's team has seven rowers this semester, while the men's team has sustained 12. "Each of my seasons, the men's team has finished off with more rowers. We have been able to end with dedicated individuals that stick it out and compete," Urevick-Ackelsberg said.

In addition to mentioning that he needed a high level of student interest in order for men's rowing to become a varsity sport, Cross also believes that dedication is something that is missing from Macalester crew. "Moving to varsity is a big step. At the club level, you get to practice at a speed that you decide on. At a competitive level, it becomes more of a top-down program and this is decided for you," Cross said, "At a place like Macalester, club sports don't attract people that want that level of commitment- so having crew as a varsity sport would certainly change the flavor."

However, the men's team members state their high level of dedication and commitment as one of the main reasons why becoming a varsity-status team would work, "We're the most dedicated club team on campus," said rower Ken Cozine '04. "We work as hard as any varsity team without the full-time team, full funding, or support, but our guys are committed," he added.

If waking up before sunrise six days a week isn't enough proof of their high performance and dedication level, the members of the men's team are quick to mention their successes at various regattas over the past year. This past fall, the Macalester men's crew team was invited to compete in the Head of the Charles, one of the most well-known regattas in the world. But, because of limited crew funding and Macalester van policy limits, two members of the team were forced to use their own cars to drive the team from St. Paul to Boston in only a day and back again. This meant that the team had to spend about 50 hours in the car in total during the Thursday to Sunday weekend.

Even though this trip was physically and mentally exhausting for the team, Macalester raced well at the HOTC. Unfortunately, a boat from a rowing club in Germany crashed into the Macalester boat near the finish line which set the team back a bit. Without this collision, Macalester would have finished 12th out of more than 60 boats, beating such teams as University of Chicago, Rice (Tex. )University, and Williams College (Mass.).

Macalester has also had other successes. At a regatta in Duluth called "Death Row," an extremely lengthy race 18 miles upstream, Macalester had the fastest men's collegiate four. At the Head of the Rock Regatta in Illinois, Macalester finished second in a mixed men's and women's boat. This weekend, Macalester crew is continuing their dedication with a regatta at the Midwest Rowing Championships.

Cross also said that limited financial resources may be a hurdle in the way of adding new sports. Nevertheless, some team members see the addition of crew as a solution to the tight budget. "The idea of having crew as a varsity sport is clearly a good idea—it is obviously an expense but as the school is looking to recruit students from prep schools and wealthier backgrounds, crew would make a big difference to a kid coming from one of these schools. If we had as few as two rowers like this--ones that would pay the full price for tuition, the crew team would essentially pay for itself.

"Adding crew as a varsity sport would help immensely … we would have a full-time coach, more boats, and be able to recruit guys from all over the country," Urevick-Ackelsberg added.

"When you have dedicated individuals who get up at 5:15 a.m. to row while also being able to balance academics, those are the kind of people you want at Macalester," Cozine added.