Thanks to our community, our anonymous donor match, AND an unexpected corporate gift match, we raised $3168 for Simmons Crew in honor of Title IX!

We're closing out 2022 with a bang! Now through December 31st, all gifts to Simmons Crew Title IX fundraising will be matched dollar for dollar up to $1000 by an anonymous alum, on top of what's already been raised. $25 becomes $50, $100 becomes $200, $250 becomes $500! Make a gift before the end of the year with designation for Friends of Rowing to double your impact for Simmons Crew. We've already raised $150 towards our $1000 48hr goal; we'll get there with your help!

There are two weeks left to make a gift to Simmons Crew in honor of 50 years of Title IX! We're just $400 short of beating Simmons Soccer for the lead fundraising spot. Please consider making a gift of any size today.

Friends of Sharks Crew wishes you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season. We've got big plans for 2023 and hope to see you there!

Giving Tuesday is here, and so is your chance to support Simmons Rowing! Gifts to the Crew Team have a direct impact, alleviating spring training costs, purchasing unisuits for team members, and maintaining equipment. Make a gift today to support Crew and keep the team's Title IX fundraising lead over other Simmons Athletics teams!

GIVE NOW!

2022 marks fifty years since the enactment of Title IX. Before 1972, Simmons students could be barred from competing in athletics on the basis of sex. Today, Simmons Athletics continues to look to a future of opening doors and smashing ceilings. 

In honor of 50 years of Title IX and the trailblazers who paved the way for today's student athletes, each Simmons team has been challenged with a fundraising goal of $5000 by the end of the year. With over four decades of Crew alum, Friends of Sharks Crew accepts the challenge and calls on our community to get Simmons Rowing to this goal!

Make a donation today with designation for Friends of Rowing in honor of Title IX! All donations with designation for Friends of Rowing will be restricted for use only by the crew team.

That's a wrap on head racing season! Simmons Crew captured medals this fall and competed in several races, including the world renowned Head of the Charles Regatta. This issue of Simmons Rows On highlights some exciting HOCR recaps, results, and news. We hope you were able to make it down to the river to cheer on Simmons.

We're excited four this year's Head of the Charles Regatta because Simmons 4+s will be racing both Saturday and Sunday! Saturday will feature the alumnae/i boat as bow #15 in the Women's Alumnae Fours event at 11:49AM, and the collegiate boat will race on Sunday at 2:58PM as bow #33 in the Women's Collegiate Fours event.

Friends of Sharks Crew is also excited to highlight the Ukrainian National Rowing Team who will be making their debut at this year's Head of the Charles. Organized by Simmons Crew coach Andrii Ivanchuk, a former member of the National Team, the Ukrainians will be competing in numerous events including the Championship Eights and in a youth 4+. “It’s important for Ukrainians to use any platform to remind people that the war is still going and that Ukraine is still fighting,” said Ivanchuk. Check out the Boston Globe article on the team's journey to HOCR.

For the most up to date start times, results, and more, please visit Head of the Charles on Regatta Central.

Have you been looking for a way to get involved with Friends of Sharks Crew, connect with the community, or support the Simmons Crew Team? Here's your chance! The Friends of Sharks Crew Leadership Team is accepting applications now through Friday, September 30th!

The Leadership Team is the executive volunteer board behind Friends of Sharks Crew working to achieve its mission. Members of the Leadership Team are alumnae/i, parents, or other individuals with a significant tie to Simmons Crew and are dedicated to fostering the FSC community and supporting the Simmons Rowing Team. Members attend regular virtual Team meetings, maintain individual projects, and work collaboratively to push FSC to its fullest extent. As a newly-formed and actively-expanding group, Friends of Sharks Crew and its Leadership Team offer a unique opportunity to take on an influential role in a developing and collaborative initiative.

Check out open positions and submit an application via our website! We hope you will consider joining us in this effort.

Autumn is here, and so is fall racing! We're looking forward to Simmons Crew's return to the river, Head of the Charles, and so much more this season. Among many exciting things, we're thrilled to announce the Friends of Sharks Crew Leadership Team!

Friends,

DC Strokes, an LGBTQ+-dedicated rowing club based in Washington DC, is leading calls for USRowing to change its selection of Sarasota, Florida for the location of the Masters National Championships in response to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. USRowing’s decision to hold the Masters National Championships in Florida contradicts their organizational goal of "[exemplifying] diversity, equity and inclusion in the sport of rowing at all levels" by asking "USRowing members to provide revenue to a state advancing anti-LGBTQ+ policies that undermine the rights and humanity of so many of our rowers around the country" (USRowing Announces Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; DC Strokes).

“While USRowing has taken rhetorical steps in recent years to support and encourage the acceptance of LGBTQ+ rowers with published statements, online forums, and social media, its conscious decision to hold 2022’s Masters National Championships in Florida shows that the organization is more interested in protecting its bottom line than the health, safety, and well-being of its LGBTQ+ rowers” (DC Strokes).

Several rowing clubs, organizations, and individuals have signed DC Strokes’ letter in support of calling upon USRowing to move the Masters National Championships out of Florida. As the alum organization for Simmons Crew, which has included countless LGBTQ+ individuals since its founding in 1978, we are adding Friends of Sharks Crew’s name to this list of signatory support. We share this statement with you in a stance of solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community members. If you feel inclined to add your name as an individual or further share DC Strokes’ letter, please find the call linked here.

School's out! Check out issue 7 of Simmons Rows On for spring season highlights, to meet one of Simmons Crew's newest alums, and for a discount on the FSC fan store!