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25 Jan 2008
A Memo from Gregg Hartsuff, President, ACRA
With the recent announcement of the formation of the American Collegiate Rowing Association many coaches and athletes are curious as to specifics for the National Championship we are sponsoring. This document will hopefully answer your questions. We also have begun work on a website: www.americancollegiaterowing.com and as we have information we will put it up there.
At this stage the ACRA is still forming bylaws. There have been 30 coaches from club programs around the U.S. contributing thoughts and ideas. We are in the process of establishing governance and a democratic process for this association. Our mission is to provide a high quality National Championship regatta experience for primarily athletes of club rowing programs in the United States. If you are interested in getting involved and having your voice heard please feel invited to do so. Contact me at uofmcrew@umich.edu.
On Tuesday, January 8, 2008 a group of coaches held a conference call and formed two committees one to look at bylaws and membership, and the other to discuss what the national championship will look like. On Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 the coaches held another conference call and named the organization, and the committees reported. Afterwards the group discussed potential bylaws, discussed aspects of the championship regatta, and elected leadership. The officers and representatives elected on an interim basis were:
ACRA OFFICERS AND REPRESENTATIVES |
Gregg Hartsuff | University of Michigan | President |
Robert Jaugstetter | Tulane University | Treasurer |
William Greene | University of Rochester | Secretary |
Paul Mohka | UCLA | West Coast Rep |
Jeff Mork | University of Texas | Southwest Rep |
Aaron Zdawczyk | Northwestern University | Midwest Rep |
William Oliver | University of Virginia | Mid-Atlantic Rep |
Presently unfilled | | Northeast Rep |
Tom Altenhofen | University of Minnesota | Competition Committee |
Alex Berlin | University of Colorado | Competition Committee |
Cameron Carter | Washington University | Membership Committee |
The ACRA National Championship Regatta
This information is reliable right now, though some debate on some specific items still remains.
Known Specifics
Date: | Saturday and Sunday, May 24 & 25, 2008 |
Site: | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Note: We have also committed to hold the race in Oklahoma City in 2009. |
Events: | Men: Varsity 8, 2nd Varsity 8, Freshman/Novice 8, Lightweight 8, Varsity 4+, Freshman 4+, Lightweight 4+, Men? Pair w/o, Men? Double Sculls, Men? Single Sculls |
| Women: Varsity 8, Novice 8, Varsity 4+, Freshman 4+, Lightweight 4+, Women? Pair w/o, Women? Double Sculls, Women? Single Sculls |
Qualifications: | At this time there are no qualifying competitions required and you can plan on attending if your program and athletes meet the eligibility requirements. |
Progression: | Finals will be Sunday, May 25, 2008 in the morning; Heats and Semi-Finals will be held all day Saturday, May 24, 2008. It will be determined by the number of entries. |
Program Eligibility:
(Updated April 27, 2008) | this applies only to fours and eights events at this time: |
| 1) Any program defined as a club sport by their institution, regardless of the institutions affiliation with the NCAA. |
| 2) Any program that is defined as a varsity program by their institution but their institution is not an NCAA member institution. This would include varsity programs at institutions that are members of the NAIA and NJCAA. |
| Note: If your institution is a member of the NCAA and your team is a varsity team, regardless of NCAA division, the program is not eligible to compete at this regatta in fours and eights events. We are still debating on whether competition in the small boats is allowed by these programs. |
Rules currently being debated in committee
We still working on many bylaws and rules, but a few of the more important ones we are addressing right now:
Athlete Eligibility: | Committee discussion has leaned toward using Dad Vail, ECAC, and IRA rules, though the subject on how to treat graduate students is being debated. |
B Entries: | Most coaches are against having B entries right now. |
Doubling: | Most coaches are against doubling of athletes right now. |
Small Boats: | We are still debating as to how to treat the 2-, 2x, and 1x events. We are debating whether to include them in the ACRA Championship, or separate from the regatta as an exhibition that same weekend. We are also debating if there is a different set of eligibility rules we may apply to them, such as allowing doubling, grad students, or athletes of NCAA varsity programs. |
List of teams
This is a list of teams who have contributed to discussions to this point. Most are planning to attend the championship this year:
Arizona State University,
Georgia Tech University,
Grand Valley State University,
Northwestern University,
Ohio State University,
Oklahoma City University,
Purdue University,
Tulane University,
University of California-Davis,
University of California-Los Angles,
University of California-Santa Barbara,
University of Cincinnati,
University of Colorado,
University of Dayton Men,
University of Delaware,
University of Maryland,
University of Michigan,
University of Minnesota,
University of North Carolina,
University of Notre Dame,
University of Rochester,
University of St. Thomas,
University of Southern California,
University of Texas,
University of Virginia,
Washington State University,
Washington University (St. Louis),
Wichita State University.
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