Boathouse? We don't need no stinkin' boathouse

First question: will it help them win?

Answer: No.

The men's lightweight crew team may still be learning how to use all the features of its new boathouse, such as the video room, but the one thing they know for sure is that the new boathouse changes nothing about the sport for them. "In the end, it still all comes down to the athletes, and who moves the boat fastest," Captain Andrew Morley, JE '01, said. "The only difference is, we're rowing out of a stunning piece of architecture now, that's all."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The newly completed Gilder Boathouse is spacious enough to handle all of Yale's crew teams.

Second, and more important, question: do they need help winning?

Answer: No.

Despite trying some new lineups, the team won convincingly last Sat., Oct. 7 at the Head of the Housatonic regatta. The win showed that the team hadn't lost their stuff over the summer, but rather had picked up right where they left off after winning the Henley Royal Regatta in July in London (the most important cup in crew racing).

"To be honest, last year's championship was last year," Morley said. "We have to start all over from scratch this year." Morley, is pleased with his squad's first place finish, and he's also pleased with the new crew boathouse, but his focus is still on the grueling hours that await the team in the tanks and out on the water. "To get the team all on the same page technically requires lots of water time and patience," he said.

Practice will be a lot easier for the team this year now that they have the benefit of a state-of-the-art facility. "We had a 21st-century rowing program in a 19th-century boathouse," Head Coach Andrew Card said of the previous boathouse.

The boathouse was originally built in the 1920s to house Yale's varsity heavyweight crews, while the other crews rowed on the harbor. Teams eventually could no longer row on the harbor because of increased shipping in the area due to World War II, so they had to move to the boathouse. The addition of female students and, subsequently, women's crew teams, caused additional overcrowding of the boathouse. Not a moment too soon, construction of the new boathouse began in June 1999. It took approximately one year to complete, but now Card heralds it as the "best boathouse in the country." The team agrees; Morley calls it a "palace." The boathouse will also serve as an attraction for future recruits.

As the new season begins in a new boathouse, the squad is putting their national championship and their Temple Challenge Cup at last year's Henley Royal behind them. Card said that the team is trying to maintain a "healthy attitude towards the season, since winning a championship is never easy."

Lightweight Crew

Record:1-0 Recent Results: Won at Head of the Housatonic Coming Up: Sun., Oct. 22 at the Head of the Charles; Sat., Oct. 28 at the Head of the Schulykill

Card estimates that the league competition will be tight this year, so although Yale's team is a strong contender, they are not the only contenders out there. They still have goals remaining from last year they want to achieve, such as winning the Wright Cup in the varsity sprints race—a contest they lost by 0.11 seconds last season—and winning the Jope Cup, the points trophy at the varsity sprints, which they lost by a single point last year. And, of course, defending last year's titles is also on their list.

But perhaps the team's loftiest goal is to win their remaining three major races over a period of eight days this fall: the Head of the Charles on Sun., Oct. 22, the Head of the Schuylkill the following week on Sat., Oct. 28, and the Princeton Chase the next day on Sun., Oct. 29. Yale is the only team participating in all three races this season.

The team has faith in their system to make this year yet another success. They are accustomed to making frequent small adjustments within their team to hone their skills. But they also realize the value of patience in a sport that requires so much hard work and endurance. Everyday they are working harder, pulling faster, and attempting to improve their technique.

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