The Campaign: We Need Your Help

The Spartan Alumni Rowing Association (SARA) is embarking on a long term capital campaign to benefit of Case Crew. We are trying to raise enough money for two shells and a shell trailer. The campaign's first priority is to raise enough to replace the Sweet J this spring.

The students primarily raise funds by selling concessions at Cleveland Browns games, and they use this money to buy boats through the University. These boats are then owned by the university. Following this fund raising model the team has only been able to purchase three (3) new boats since 1995 -- clearly an impressive achievement but the team still relies on alumni and friend support to boost the competitiveness of the fleet.

The financial situation of the team is tenuous at best. There are only two teams on Case's campus that must fund raise for their basic facilities: Crew and Ice Hockey. All other sports on campus are provided courts, fields and pools for their sport at no cost. This added burden for boathouse space plus the need to get to regattas every year takes a huge chunk of the team's budget just to exist -- leaving little for much needed equipment. Over the next three years, the assessment charged by the boathouse per rower will increase 30% to $220 per year and rack rents are set to increase by 20-25% over the same period. Assuming ~40 rowers, the total bill due to the boathouse will equal the price of a new double...every year.

SARA has proven we can help

Over the last couple years we have raised nearly $17,000. We have donated two SpeedCoaches, replacement riggers, many necessary emergency repairs to keep the team afloat and this summer a brand new Pocock pair/double. The pair/double has since medaled at every regatta entered. This wonderful support has begun to make a difference and has given us the confidence that we can deliver on this capital campaign.

Please consider a donation in support of this campaign. All of your donations to SARA are tax deductible.

The team is worthy of our support

The team is riding a wave of success on and off the water. The team has won the Home School Regatta trophy the last two years and the Hammer Trophy against John Carroll the last four. Case Crew has also placed boats into the semi-finals of the Dad Vail Regatta, the national championship, three of the last six years. Recent individual honors go to Miranda Cullins who attended the National Team Development Camp last summer and is the two-time winner of the women's open event at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints, a CRASH-B satellite event.

If you are an alum, how many hours have you spent hawking beer at a Cleveland Browns game? Each Browns game is a 10-hour commitment between opening prep, the game, and closing and inventory for the concession stand. The team also holds an annual erg-a-thon and many bake sales to add to the pot of funds. On top of class and practice every athlete has a specific fundraising commitment in addition to dues and paying for uniforms. Even with all this hard work, the team still comes up short without alumni support.

We all know how difficult classes are at Case. However, a 2006 graduate from the team working for a major cell phone company likens his job to his duties as a regatta chair - he learned more that is relevant to his current professional life from crew than class. We all pull from our shared experience of rowing on the Cuyahoga at 5am with a dedicated coach urging us to perform at our best. Case Crew is all about hard work, life balance, lasting friendships, and finding that perfect stroke on the Cuyahoga. Let's build on the team's success by giving the student athletes and coaches the tools they need to be successful.

The need for new and better boats

Case Crew was only founded in 1991, but this relatively short history has not prevented our alumni from stepping up to support Case Crew through SARA. We all remember the days lugging beer up and down stadium stairs or logging hours for an erg-a-thon so we all realize the need for funds. Now is our time to start making a difference and answering the question, "wouldn't be great if we had alumni that could donate a boat?".

Case's peer schools on and off the water are those from the University Athletic Association. The teams meet every spring at the URA Championships, but if you see the trailers from teams like Carnegie-Mellon (team founded in 1987), Rochester (1981), WashU (1985), and Chicago (1975) you'll see that Case isn't actually in the "same league" in terms of equipment. Each of these universities are roughly the same size, are all ranked in the Top 50 academically, exert exactly the same pressures to study, and have remarkably similar student bodies. And all of their rowing teams are club programs like Case.

However, Rochester has shown up to the last couple URA regattas with brand new Empacher eights and fours (list). WashU is placing an order for a Hudson eight and two fours this spring after they bought a brand new Resolute 8 last year. 100% of this roughly $150,000 investment at these two programs for shells was paid for through donations from alumni, parents and friends. Chicago and Carnegie-Mellon also have large, modern fleets and all four teams are allowed to pay their coaches. These teams are given $10-20,000 each year by their athletic departments to cover operating expense so most of their fundraising can be devoted to new equipment. Chicago was given an additional $27,000 in 2007 by their Athletic Department in addition to their annual allocation for a couple eights. Case has never given the crew more than $2,000, per year, and are expressly prohibited by the college from paying coaches even if they had the money.

It should come as no surprise that the additional resources at Case's peer schools yield more speed. With similar athlete numbers, teams from WashU and Carnegie-Mellon have won(!) multiple events at Dad Vails. Rochester typically fields bigger boats and routinely holds their own against area varsity programs like RIT and Ithaca College. Rochester also shows strong at Vails and typically sends their top athletes to IRAs, the highest-level championship in the country. All three programs also have their own boathouses and paid coaches, but are still true club programs with significant annual fund raising requirements.

Case Crew currently only has at their disposal three shells that were purchased since 2000: one eight, one four and the new pair/double SARA bought last spring. Only one of these shells is not near the end of its competitive life. For a team of this size and competition level Case Crew should have at least 2 racing quality eights, 3 to 4 coxed fours, and a couple pairs on a nice trailer. It is not a gigantic amount of equipment, but approaching this level of equipment will enable a step functional improvement in flexibility for the student athletes and coaches.

Listing of shells currently owned by Case Crew and SARA

The coaches have asked SARA to help the team this year by replacing the Sweet J, which is a 13 year old shell that still gets daily use. The first step in the Alumni Victorious Campaign is to deliver on this request.

The need for a trailer

Case Crew is the only team at the boathouse without its own trailer. It is due to the goodwill that coaches Tim & Chris have developed in Cleveland that allows the team to borrow trailers when needed. However, it has become increasingly difficult to secure trailers or space on trailers for regattas. Last year Coach Tim had to personally guarantee and drive the WRRA trailer himself to 6 regattas in order for the team to get to races. This is clearly untenable due to the risk placed on Tim and it is up to SARA to help. Due to the independent nature of SARA, we are able to buy the trailer, register it, maintain it, and get license plates. Even when the students have had the money, they could never get such a purchase approved due to the nature of the Case Sports Club Council structure and oversight requirements.

Leave your mark on the team

All donations to SARA are tax deductible. The Alumni Victorious Campaign is a multi-year initiative to significantly boost the level of equipment at Case Crew's disposal - starting with a new 4+ this spring. As such, please consider a multi-year pledge or keep us in mind with your future financial planning to achieve one of the above recognition levels.

Campaign Progress

Our 2008 goal is to replace the Sweet J, and we already have pledges and commitments for $9,200 of the $17,000 needed for this first shell. One seat of the five has already been named, but the details of this particular donation will remain anonymous until the boat dedication ceremony. We are currently planning a boat dedication and donor recognition at the Head of the Cuyahoga in September.

Campaign Contacts

If you would like to discuss donation options please contact one of us below. Otherwise, please mail your donations to Fraser Hewson, Spartan Alumni Rowing Association, 31646 Electric Blvd., Avon Lake, OH 44012-2010. Please indicate whether your gift is in support of the Alumni Victorious Campaign or SARA annual giving.

Overall
Campaign
Progress

Last Upated:
5/15/2008