UC ROWING CLUB UPDATE
We open our newsletter with some bad news / good news. The bad news is the Team’s small equipment trailer was stolen in December. The good news is the team found creative solutions to this uncommon challenge. Coach Brian Pack and team Exec Board members reached out to local clubs (and our alumni) and received many wonderful offers and donations of riggers and other stolen hardware items. Also, the perpetrator was identified and arrested by the Cincinnati Police from UCRAF’s security camera footage and is awaiting sentencing.

Meanwhile the Team did its best to keep to a normal winter training routine. Through the cold months the team trained every morning in the tanks and competed at the Cincinnati Indoor and Midwest Erg Sprints (Columbus). The team enjoyed perfect weather in Clemson, South Carolina for their spring training (lots of meters, lots of drills, and a lot of food at the dining hall).
On to the races! It was a successful day at Redhawk Sprints (April 13, Acton Lake, Oxford OH). Some of the team did their first 2ks on the water and many took home hardware. Next up for the Team: MACRA (April 28, Eagle Creek Reservoir, Indianapolis IN) and ACRA (May 17-19, Oak Ridge TN). Follow the team happenings on Instagram @cincyrowing.

A huge thank you to everyone who rallied to fill the void of riggers and equipment to keep the team moving forward. This made the spring break trip and the season possible. Thank you to those who donated to the erg-a-thon fundraiser—which raised close to $8,000, enabling the purchase of other items that were stolen such as slings, coxswain suits, PFDs, and materials for blocks.

CAREER TRANSITIONS: Head Coach, Brian Pack

This Spring we bid a fond farewell to UCRC Head Coach, Brian Pack, as he transitions into a career in law enforcement. UCRC is recruiting a new Head Coach! Are you or someone you know the perfect candidate for coaching? Please refer any inquiries to Andrew Lennard (andrew.lennard@gmail.com) and Abby Austin (abigailrbeach@gmail.com), who will help UCRC with the job search.

We want to thank Brian for his service to UC Rowing and wish him much success in his future endeavors. Brian has been our coach since 2021 and has been part of several accomplishments throughout this time.

CALL FOR HOSTS: Summer Alumni Backyard BBQ

Our 40^th reunion was so much fun that we want more chances to reconnect and reminisce! Introducing… alumni backyard BBQ’s for those of you in cities around the USA. So consider this a formal request for volunteer hosts. If you have a backyard, a community room or a nearby park with a picnic shelter, UCRAF will cover the cost of food and beverages, and help you coordinate the event.

If you are interested, please contact Katie Nolan and Kelly Salchow with your location and possible dates. We can be reached at katie_nolan@ucraf.org.

INTRODUCING ALUMNI LIAISON BOARD MEMBERS: Katie Nolan and Kelly Salchow MacArthur

Katie & Kelly?!? Yes, the cox-stroke duo you know and love is back at it, and are your new alumni liaison duo. You will be hearing more from them with newsletters and social media posts. If you have any news you’d like to share in an upcoming newsletter, please let us know! And we would love to receive any photos (past or present) that we could share! Email us at katie_nolan@ucraf.org.

ARE YOU FOLLOWING UCRAF ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Join the group on Facebook at UCRAF Community, and on Instagram @ucraf_social.

UCRAF BOARD UPDATE: Helpful Background Information on what’s happening

As you may know, for the past three years we have benefited from an Advisory Board that was instrumental in getting the Team past the Covid crisis, raising funds to support Head Coach Brian Pack, and broadening our base of support. During this time, we also had the original (and very small) UCRAF Board, and this created some confusion. To make our governance clearer and more effective, we have closed the Advisory Board chapter, with thanks for the many people who contributed to that effort, and expanded our UCRAF Board to include 12 of our Alumni.

The Board members are Rolf Linder, Tim Garry, and Nathan Martell from our previous Board; and new Board members Andrew Lennard, Abby Austin, Paul Gordon, Matt Bishara, Katie Nolan, Kelly Salchow MacArthur, Tristan Hite, Sara Sumner and Joe Spahn. Diane Klein, previously with the UCRAF Board, has rotated off due to her many responsibilities with the Army, and we are incredibly grateful for her service to UCRAF and the Team.

We are proud to join the re-visioned UCRAF Board, and you’ll be hearing from us regularly.

TRIBUTE TO BILL ENGEMAN BY ROLF LINDER

One of the Cincinnati rowing legends has passed. Bill Engeman was a pioneer of everything rowing in our city. All the current programs that are active today, including University of Cincinnati Rowing, can be traced back to his vision and tireless effort. I got to know Bill in the early 1980’s when some new friends at a party told me they were rowing out at East Fork Lake. So I went out, met Bill, and like so many others, followed his example of rowing for the love of the sport, helping out, and getting young(er) people involved. This led to many wonderful memories including competing at the Canadian Henley (where the attached photo comes from), rowing “treks” that Bill organized down the Ohio and up through the beautiful gorges of the Kentucky River, and of course, starting to coach the new UC team. Bill loved to travel anywhere there was rowing. I recently talked to Tony Geara (UCRC 2001-2006) and he reminisced about Bill traveling with him to South Korea for the Olympic qualifying regatta. “Bill always said yes to anything with rowing” was the gist of what Tony said, and we couldn’t agree more. Friend, mentor and US Rowing Man of the Year honoree, Bill will be missed. He was one of a kind.