Beach Crew’s second regatta of the season took place in Marina Del Ray, California. Hosted by UCLA Rowing, the events took place on Sunday, March 10^th, with a forecast of sunny skies and smooth water. Special guest rowers from Orange’s Chapman University joined LBSU for a composite Varsity 8 and a Novice 8 boat.

UCLA Classic held 2k sprints in a total of nine different races. Long Beach, along with Chapman rowers, rowed in the Varsity 8 at 9am. LBSU Novice 8A+ and a composite LBSU/CHAP Novice 8+ rowed at 9:40am. Both the Novice 8’s and Varsity 8 raced in their respective petite finals later on. Finally, the Varsity 4+ competed at 10:30am.

Long Beach Varsity, along with Chapman Varsity oarsmen, Rob Farmer and Finn Grant, placed 4^th in the V8 race. Their overall time came to 7:09.2 sec. Continuing to the Petite Final, LBSU and CHAP placed 4^th once again. The two Novice 8 boats, LBSU Novice A and LBSU/CHAP composite Novice 8, raced in the 9:40am heat. LBSU Novice A came in 3^rd (time: 7:09.14sec) and the LBSU/CHAP Novice 8 came in 4^th (time: 8:17.58sec). Both boats raced in the Petite Final; LBSU Novice A took 2^nd place with a time of 7:20.57 sec (just 2 seconds behind UCI Novice A!). Unfortunately, the LBSU/CHAP composite Novice 8 did not finish the race due to breakage. Finally, the Varsity 4+ raced and took 2^nd place in their heat, chasing after UCLA for first. The Varsity 4+ finished with a time of 7:42.62, with UCLA finishing with a time of 7:39.6sec.

Above: LBSU Varsity 4+ capturing the moment after taking 2nd place! Varsity crew (from left to right) Phoebe Evans, Chris Marinas, Brayden Bruggeman, Brandon Freijanes, and Ehab Elrashidy.

Once again, UCLA’s marina provided beautiful conditions on a clear day. Varsity continues the chase to WIRA, hoping for continued growth. The Novices, some with a semester of experience and some with just a few weeks of training, work together on and off the water, striving to represent LBSU competitively. Additionally, with one Novice boat not finishing from breakage, the new rowers learn to “roll with the punches”, maintaining a positive attitude.

Thank you to UCLA Rowing for hosting!

For more information, visit the ClockCaster link: https://clockcaster.com/e/25

Women’s head coach ends chapter at the Beach

Cristina Felix left her position as head coach at Long Beach State on Feb. 1.

The Long Beach State women’s crew huddles around Cristina Felix on her last day as head coach. (02/01)

The Pete Archer Rowing Center was filled with teary eyes and group hugs Friday as the Long Beach State Women’s Rowing Crew said farewell to head coach Cristina Felix. After over a decade of contributions to the Long Beach rowing community, Felix will be leaving to pursue a career in pediatric trauma nursing at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“It’s bittersweet,” said women’s team President Megan DeVore. “It’s sad to see her go, but I’m also really really excited to see her take a step towards her career goals.”

Felix began her journey with the Long Beach rowing community in 2007 when she rowed for the Long Beach Junior Crew. In her two and a half years rowing with LBJC, Felix won three USRowing Youth National Championships in an 8+, 2x and 4x.

After graduating high school in 2008, Felix continued her rowing career in other parts of the country: rowing for the University of Michigan, competing for the United States Under 23 national team and coaching for Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Felix returned to Long Beach, California in 2017 to volunteer for the Long Beach State Women’s Rowing Crew. The following year, sherose as assistant coach and then head coach.

According to DeVore, women’s team assistant coach Emily Siersen will be serving as interim women’s head coach until the team finds a replacement.

“There’s a good team chemistry right now, and we don’t want to mess that up by bringing the wrong person on,” DeVore said. “We want to find someone that matches the values and needs of the team and that takes time to figure out.”

In addition, the women’s team will receive assistance and support from the men’s team coaches as well as Felix who has agreed to provide continuous support for the team remotely. According to DeVore, Felix will be sending workout plans and feedback from Pennsylvania.

“I’d like to see the team continue to grow in the same sense that it maintains its focus on developing better people,” Felix said.

Felix’s last day as head coach was Friday. 

“I think one of the biggest things I’ll miss is the camaraderie of it all and just being able to get up and start your day with people who are like-minded and dedicated,” Felix said. “It’s the kind of group of people I hope to be able to surround myself with in the future.”

Dear Beach Crew Alumni and Friends of Long Beach State Rowing:

As we approach this time of year, we want to give thanks to our community of support, both on and off the water. 2017 brought us continued support of obtaining additional long-term assets, such as the Amy Fuller Vespoli 8+, and several sets of oars. Back in March, we finally celebrated the dedication of the Joan Lind Van Blom Memorial Bridge, the portion of California State Highway 1 which crosses Alamitos Bay’s Cerritos Channel. From what started as a simple phone call to me, through the process of support of our public dignitaries, and to those who financially-backed the effort, the legacy of Long Beach State’s finest athletes remain strong.

CSULB continues to be an attractive option for incoming students. The campus had 103,605 student applications for fall 2017, the highest in university history. Freshman applications totalled 63,035, one of the highest among CSUs, and transfer applications totalled 31,144, 2 percent higher than last year, and one of the highest in the nation.*

As I write this, I can’t help to say that I’m somewhat sentimental of the past decade of service to this team and the Foundation’s efforts. In case you did not hear, I announced my departure from the board back in October, effective June 30, 2018, the end of the academic year, to pursue other areas of the sport. I have to admit that I’ve been blessed to work with such wonderful people all over the country, some who aren’t even part of the sport. This was something completely unexpected during my tenure at The Beach. I have to admit that while focused on my studies, I learned so much more outside the classroom than I did on campus. It’s probably why former CSULB President, Dr. Robert C. Maxon, quoted, “If the only thing you do in college is go to class, then you have not had the full college experience.” Meeting so many people over the team’s past 60 years, all the way back to our co-founder, has been nothing short of inspiration. This sport relies so much on community, no matter how big or small your institution may be. Having seen so many other collegiate teams across the country, I can say that the BCA is in good hands and that Beach Crew is fortunate to have this community. I can remember all of the challenges of its infancy and the difficulty of reuniting 50 years of athletes at the time. We may not have always agreed on how to make things work, let alone becoming acquainted to the needs of today’s athletes, and wanting to see things in different light. But that is what’s so intriguing to the matter. We all have a story, we found a way, and I am grateful for what we have.

I want everyone to know that while I am around and about the country at events, I will always have a spot in my heart for Long Beach State and this decade-long effort we spent. We will always cross paths.

On February 24, 2018, Beach Crew is slated to celebrate it’s 60th year celebration. I hope to see many of you there.

Before I sign off for the rest of the year, I’d like to remind everyone that if you have not updated your membership for this academic year, please consider that there is still time for a tax deductible donation to the association. Your support is making a huge difference in maintaining a quality rowing team at LBSU. You can still send your $25 membership fee and any other contribution via http://beachcrew.org/give/

On the behalf of the BCA Board of Directors, all of us wish you the best this time of season and into 2018. I look forward to the last six months we have together. See you in the spring.

GO BEACH!

Brandin Grams ’10
Director of Outreach

* Facts from CSULB 2017 Convocation Address http://web.csulb.edu/newsroom/convocation-set-for-aug-25