The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas Rowing: Information on joining the nationally-ranked program
08.01.2007 | Rowing
The Texas Rowing program, under the direction of former U.S. Olympic gold medalist Carie Graves, invites you to become a member of the this Division I program. No experience is necessary to join the novice squad.
The Texas Rowing staff, headlined by three-time U.S. Olympian and head coach Carie Graves, talks about the opportunities available for full-time UT females to participate in the program. There are two levels of UT rowers-- varsity and novice. The varsity eight boat raced in back-to-back NCAA Championships where UT placed 12th (2003) and 15th (2004).
Thank you for inquiring about the Texas Rowing team at The University of Texas!
The Advantages of Being a Texas Rower
Rowing is based on the walk-on athlete-- who is someone having no prior experience in the sport. Many current and former Olympians, along with Texas varsity rowers, began their rowing careers in college as novice walk-ons.
Texas Rowing is a fully-funded varsity sport. All expenses associated with competing for the team (travel, uniforms, etc.) are covered for the student-athlete.Rowers receive athletics benefits and also are eligible for performance-based athletics financial aid once they prove themselves during their novice year.
The team is divided into a varsity squad and a novice squad. The varsity squad is made up of recruited high school rowers and experienced walk-on rowers. The novice squad is comprised of walk-ons, the vast majority of whom have never rowed before. Many people who try out for the novice squad were high school athletes from volleyball, basketball, track, swimming, etc. For some of our Texas Rowing walk-ons, however, rowing is the first organized sport they have tried.
It requires a strong commitment to be on the team, but the rewards are great. You have the honor of representing UT as a varsity athlete. You travel across the country to race against schools from all around the nation; we race in tremendous venues in places like San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta and Boston.
Tryouts
We hold try-outs in the fall for the novice squad and accept about 60 women onto the team. After that, practice is every weekday afternoon and on most Saturday mornings until November for the fall semester, and January through April in the spring semester. Weekday practices are held in the late afternoon when most people are finished with class. We will try to accommodate most class schedules.
Informational Meeting
We encourage all those interested to attend our Texas Rowing walk-on informational meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in 328 Bellmont Hall (west side of the football stadium). If you cannot attend and are interested in rowing, please email or telephone assistant coach Caroline King at 512-232-2490 or caroline.king@athletics.utexas.edu.
A Great Team Sport
Rowing is a great team sport that attracts a diverse crowd of people who love working out outside. On the novice team, we teach you everything you need to know about the sport of rowing. A dedicated strength and conditioning coach from the UT Athletics staff also helps you get into the best shape of your life. Our goal is to have a great time while working hard towards winning at the national level.
Some people worry that they are not fit enough to try out for rowing. Fitness does figure into selection for the team, but qualities like dedication, focus, and enthusiasm are also important selection criteria. If you have the potential and dedication, we will work with you to improve your base fitness level. We also need people to serve as coxswains in the boat. The coxswain steers the boat, commands and motivates the rowers. Again, we teach you how to do all of these things. The coxswain will become a feisty competitor if she isn't one already!
Challenge yourself to try something new and totally different! These could be the teammates and the sport that you are looking for!