2018 UCLA Men's Rowing: Defending Champions

(Check out our second, funny video here!)

Help the Bruin Crew today! With determined athletes and professional coaches, funding becomes the limit to our growth. Help us remove the roadblocks to victory with a donation of any amount. No contribution is too small!

The goal of this campaign is to feed and house rowers at regattas as well as finance equipment our team needs. We implore our friends and family to help in covering the costs associated with competing at a national level against wealthier programs by partnering with us today! Generous alumni cover many expenses and each athlete pays quarterly dues to row, but much of the burden of fundraising remains on the students when it comes to travel and regatta accomadations.  With UCLA's rising tuition and our ambitious vision of defending our championship titles, we increasingly need your help to reduce the financial distraction for the athletes. 

For context, the cost of just one weekend-long regatta is about $10,000, as shown below:

In addition to donating, you can help us by spreading the word about our fundraiser to your family and friends. Reach out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and help us represent UCLA well at PAC-12 Championships, San Diego Crew Classic and more! 

UCLA Men's Rowing is a squad of about 60 active rowers, 4 seasoned coaches, hundreds of alumni and you! The sport connects us to the UCLA experience and teaches us to win on and off the water through relentless effort and teamwork. We train our minds and our bodies at Marina del Rey and on campus six days per week, with double and triple sessions mixed in. We are future engineers, lawyers, doctors and more who share a deep love of rowing.

Last season, we earned numerous coveted trophies at major regattas including the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (WIRA), the PAC-12 Championships, and the University of California Challenge Cup. The crew also demonstrated that we are not only powerful athletes, but stellar students. We excel by applying the same skills and effort that we learn on the water to the classroom. Last year alone, 13 athletes made the PAC-12 All-Academic Team, more than any other school.

We travel along the west coast from San Diego to Seattle, racing teams from all over the nation. This fall, we flew to Boston for the Head of the Charles, and will drive to Arizona for the first annual Saguaro Sprints hosted by Arizona State University. We hope to expand our schedule to include more regattas around the country and internationally.

Inspired by the 1932 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, UCLA Rowing was born in 1933. The Bruins trained at the Olympic venue in Long Beach until the construction of our own course in Marina del Rey. The Bruin Crew quickly grew into a rowing powerhouse on the West Coast. UCLA Men's Rowing remains one of only three teams to ever win the Pacific conference championship and proudly boasts the following victories:

• 1967 and 1970: PAC-8/West Coast champions, winning Western Sprints 
• 1980: Silver medal at PAC-8/West Coast Championships
• 1987-1989: UCLA rowing won the PAC-10 Championship for three consecutive years
• 1990: Silver at PAC-10 Championships

However, in 1990 UCLA cut funding for Men's Rowing. Thanks to the generosity of last year's donors, our team was able to travel to the 2017 PAC-12 Championship Regatta and win the Club Sports Trophy. This year, we wish to not only defend our title as PAC-12 Club Champions, but strive to rise to the level of national champions.

UCLA Men’s Rowing provides a great opportunity for Bruins to represent UCLA in national championships, be part of something bigger than themselves, and gain skills that will carry them throughout their lives.

Do you want to help us reach our goals now? We have a short window to raise a lot of money! Join the team to grow our program and make our dreams a reality!