Lasell’s crew team has been on a hiatus due to a construction project along the practice route on the Charles River that made passage challenging for the team to practice on. Low attendance has also lowered numbers, forcing a temporary pause in operations. The team did not have a season this past fall and the future of the program is uncertain.
The team typically travels to the Stoller Boathouse, on the Charles River, to practice about three times a week. They would practice either in the early mornings or in the evening.
Co-captain of the team, sophomore Colleen Newcomb, has been a member of the team for a year and a half now and she explained the difficulties of practicing there.
“There is construction going on at the pedestrian bridge right next to the Stoller Boathouse, and with how everything is, it's a little too dangerous to have all the equipment there, and for us to be on the water so close to it,” Newcomb said.
In the past, the team would practice in the fall and spring semesters.
“We will go out in either singles or doubles (boats) or sometimes potentially larger boats if we have enough people, and we'll just do rowing for a couple of hours,” Newcomb said. “We'll go up and down the river up to the watchtower, which is just about two miles down, and then we'll make the loop and come back on a good day.”
In the winter, due to cold temperatures and potentially frozen bodies of water, the team still trains on the ERG machines or the rowing machines.
Head Coach Djuna Perkins would like the program to continue eventually once the construction is complete.
“It would be a shame to see the crew program end because our boathouse, equipment, and practice route are a rare and incredible resource, and rowing is a low-impact sport that utilizes the entire body, gets you super fit, can be enjoyed your entire life, has great mental health benefits, and is fun,” Perkins said.
The crew team is a club and doesn’t compete against other schools and universities, but they do partner with Charles River Incorporated Rowing (CRIR), to participate in different events.
“They'll have Halloween regattas and they'll have different events. And so the most recent one I did was the Halloween regatta last year, and it was super fun. My partner and I came in third place,” Newcomb said.
Former Lasell University President Michael B. Alexander pushed to make crew a D3 sport and Newcomb would like to see that happen.
“It'd be really awesome if we could actually have it as an actual sport,” Newcomb said.
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