Can Crew Club stay afloat?

By Amanda Blas, Staff Writer -- blas13@up.edu

Crew Club may hit some rocky waters because of a lack of stable funding.

For spring semester, the Crew Club requested $9,300 from ASUP for its major expenses, including its off-campus boat house rental, insurance and coaching fees.

"It's essentially money we need," Crew Club President Kyle "Seamus" McDonnell said.

However, the Crew Club only received only $3,080 in funding to cover their costs.

"It's unfortunate that we can't fund the whole thing," ASUP Treasurer Ben Thompson said. "They had one of the largest requests, reason specifically being the boat house."

Though the club initially requested $5,000 for its boat house rental, it was given only $1,080 for it, with the remaining $2,000 going toward coaching and insurance costs. Now, Crew Club is forced to find other ways to bring in money.

"We've had to increase club dues," McDonnell said. "Last year, our club due was $150 and we've had to increase it to $250."

The Crew Club has also had to make changes when it comes to its races.

"We've had to be more selective," Brittany Powers, a fourth-year member of the Crew Club, said. "Instead of entering all boats in regattas, we can only enter specific boats."

"What this means is that it limits the race time that rowers get," McDonnell said. "And it limits the amount of boats we can put out to win awards."

ASUP made several considerations in cutting the Crew Club's funding.

"There were a number of factors that went into it," Thompson said. "For starters, they have the fourth-largest allocation."

The club's size also played a crucial role in ASUP's decision.

"It is a fairly small group with a dozen, maybe, to 20members," Thompson said. "Ultimately, the finance committee couldn't justify fully funding the request. Just because crew is an expensive sport doesn't mean that select individuals should automatically be entitled to a greater level of funding."

The UP athletic department'sdecision to add crew as a sport for next year also influenced the funding decision.

"With the Division I crew team coming, the finance committee feared club membership numbers would decline, which made it harder to give them all of the money," Thompson said.

Funding problems are not new for the Crew Club.

"It seems like every year we're cut more," Powers said. "Last year rent was covered, and coaching was covered as well. Why are we barely able to make rent now?"

The Crew Club's funding request is minimal compared to the actual cost of running the club. Apart from their major expenses, members also have to worry about other costs, such as uniforms.

"We cover most of this from our own pockets and through our club dues and fundraising," McDonnell said. "It's worth every cent I put into it."

Another large expense the Crew Club faces is race fees.

"Our race dues will amount to over $1,000 this semester," McDonnell said. "And we didn't even put that in the budget for Senate."

The Crew Club decided not to include race dues in its request in an effort to prioritize its spending.

"We need money to pay our rent more," McDonnell said. "We'd also rather get money for all the stuff we have to have, rather than get some money for everything."

The Crew Club's funding cut is not likely to affect the team this semester.

"Crew club pays for its rental six months in advance," Thompson said.

"It's for security," Powers added. "What we request in fall semester will cover fall semester next year."

The Crew Club also hopes it will be able to bounce back from its funding cut as it did before.

"We've survived in the past," McDonnell said. "We have high hopes."

The Crew Club was not the only group that did not receive the funding it requested.

"Other clubs did experience cuts, some of which had greater or smaller cuts made to their requests," Thompson said. "It looks as if there are more than a dozen or so other clubs that experienced even larger cuts than those that crew experienced."