Men's Beach Crew prepares for first regatta in 2025 season

The Long Beach State rowing club is planning to compete in the Gruenberg Cup to kick off its 2025 season. Both novice and varsity teams have been working endlessly on the water, preparing for the race.

The Gruenberg Cup will be held Saturday, Feb. 2, at Crown Point, Mission Bay, San Diego. Both crews will be racing against University of Southern California (USC) and San Diego State University (SDSU) in both four's and eight's.

Both crews have worked tirelessly to reach this point into the regatta, as head coach Scott Erwin has had both teams row various 500-meter pieces, including 60-minute steady state pieces, while holding a 20 to 22 stroke rate.

The varsity crew are committed to making their boat the fastest its ever been, maintaining their stroke rate, and with the help of the novice crew rowing alongside them.

The novice crew this season has shown some promise in terms of speed and strength going into the season. The crew not only has been practicing with the varsity crew, they have also been training on technique, practicing on properly setting the boat while rowing.

Like the varsity crew, they too, have the drive to make their boat the fastest it can be ahead of race day.

The varsity will begin their first race in an eight boat at 9 a.m. Then the novice will have their race in a four boat at 9:05 p.m. The novices will race again in an eight boat starting at 9:55 a.m., then the varsity in the four boat at 10 a.m.