Sonoma State’s rowing club blew not just one, but two indoor rowing world records out of the water this past spring break. The world records included the 19 & under small group and over 20 years olds small group. In order to complete the feat, the U19 group had to row continuously for over 3 days and the over 20 group had to row for over seven days and 10 hours. Both teams rowed for 7 days and 12 hours with the U19 group more than doubling the record and the over 20 group beating the record by two hours.
The Ergathon took place from March 19-26. A co-ed team with six rowers worked together taking shifts of one to three hours at a time to beat the U19 benchmark. To beat the over 20 group, more club members joined to form a larger team. It was crucial that everyone was coordinated and timely with their shifts because of the clockwork-like manner the team had planned out to beat the records. That meant some team members were waking up very early or staying up very late to make sure the rowing did not stop.
The team included President Emily Braun, Vice President Nick Cross, Recruitment Committee members Calvin Colton and Clayton Trent, as well as their secretary Jillian Junquiero. Oliver Sharp-Biggs manages the boat yard and the rest of the team consists of Marie Dunlap, Ethan Edwards, Juan Garcia-Vega, Audrey Lucas, Miranda Obrero, Facundo Ortega, Taylor Rozek, Emma Twardosz, and Taylor Westover.
Braun said, “We have been planning on doing the Ergathon since late January. Our coaches really convinced us to go for the world record.”
The team was able to successfully raise over $6,000 in total, nearly $1,000 a day. Braun also added, “Some alumni reached out to say how proud of the club they were, how we’ve brought back life to Sonoma State Rowing, and how they miss rowing because it looks like we’re having so much fun.”
The entire seven-and-a-half-day venture was streamed live on Twitch, where people could voice their support, interact with the team and donate to the club’s fundraising efforts. In said stream, the team surpassed its fundraising goal of over $5,000. .
Cross commented on how he feels being a part of a world record saying, “Being able to hold [the world record] with my team is such a great feeling. What drove us to break the record was we saw a fundraising and recruitment opportunity in doing an Ergathon.” He went on to say, “Being able to have a world record and use that in tabling and recruitment is invaluable. As well as that with the success of this event we are able to race in Humboldt and Oregon. I’m really proud of my teammates, this was not an easy feat and we were able to beat the record and hopefully hold it for years to come.”
Even with two world records in their clutches the SSU rowing club is showing no signs of slowing down. With more attention on the club than ever, they hope to boost their opportunities for recruitment and raise even more money to bolster their arsenal of equipment.
