UCI Women's Rowing Program Development Fund

Thank you for coming to our page! We are trying to raise $50,000 by October to support our UCI Rowing Team and need your help.

The UC Irvine (UCI) Women's Rowing Team was cut as an NCAA Varsity Sport in 2009, due to Athletic Department cuts, but continues as a top-tier club team under the Club Sports division of Campus Recreation at UCI. We are a competitive, student-run Campus Organization that races against both NCAA and Club teams on a national level. However, since we are self-sufficient through dues, a limited annual allocation, and donations, we are still looking for supplementary aid to provide the best environment and equipment for our student-athletes.

In 2016, our Varsity Four brought home a gold at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championships in Gainesville, Georgia. The following year, in 2017, our Lightweight Four (4+) took first place at ACRA and another championship title for our university. This past year our team has continued to succeed, beginning with taking back the Collins Cup for the first time in 10 years. At the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Associations (WIRA) Championships at Rancho Cordova, California, our Novice 8+, 2nd Novice 8+, and Lightweight Novice 4+ won gold in their events, and we scored our third consecutive gold medal in the Novice 8+ category at ACRA championships (featured below).

Bringing home three national titles in the span of just three years was a great accomplishment, but we faced several obstacles. Since our team only has one 4+ shell, we had to borrow a boat from a neighboring program on Newport Back Bay for training for the 2017 ACRA Championships. Even then, our three lineups of women had to take turns practicing in the two shells that were available. Regardless, each of these three lineups remained tenacious and earned their respective spots in the national championships. Since we had borrowed a shell from a neighboring team for training and could not transport it with us to nationals, we had to borrow another shell from a different team once we arrived in Georgia. This year, 2018, Vespoli allowed us to borrow a 4+ shell demo for our girls to share at practice, and we were able to bring it with us to the WIRA championships to be used by 3 different groups of women.

Even at the peak level of competition for our division, our rowers had to share equipment without their personalized specifications, compromising their performance. This pays testimony that our rowers are the most dedicated athletes out there. Our goal is to give these devoted athletes less to worry about so they can put all of their efforts exclusively toward personal athletic development on the road to this year’s nationals. 

As the UC Irvine Women's Rowing Program continues to grow, we strive to achieve our increasingly ambitious goals through the addition of a new coxed eight racing shell and upgraded racing technology. Our program has developed extraordinary community leaders and we wish to support them and future rowers in pursuing their goals.

Thank you so much for supporting our team and we cannot wait to show you what our team will accomplish in the future.

For more information on our program, please visit:

Website: UCIrvineWomensRowing.Weebly.com 

Facebook: Facebook.com/UCIWomensRowing

Instagram: @UCIWomensRowing

With gratitude, The UC Irvine Women's Rowing Family