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By Lily Mauricio - Staff Writer Here at Rose State College, we have a number of different clubs and organizations that students can join. From Pre-Med Club to Spectrum Alliance to the Anime, Fandoms and Gaming Club, there is something for everyone.
This semester, Rose State is welcoming a new club, the Rowing Club. With the help of an anonymous donor who reached out to Rose State, a new experience is being provided to students. The donor gifted two boats and two coaches to not only Rose State College but also Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Community College. This year will also be both OSU-OKC and OCCC’s first year with a rowing club. Zach Emrich, a concurrent student at Rose State serves as Rowing Club President. Emrich has prior rowing experience, having participated in the Junior Crew Rowing Team at OKC Riversports. SaraJane Burkhart, a freshman at Rose State is the Vice President of the Rowing Club. Burkhart was also a member of the Junior Crew Rowing Team from her sophomore year to her senior year of high school. Carmen Shanks, a sophomore at Rose State serves as the club’s secretary. With the excitement surrounding a Rowing Club at Rose State, many have wondered if it will eventually join the list of sports offered at Rose. “The goal is to hopefully this semester, get the club started,” said Emrich. “Next semester we will hopefully be doing more races or regattas as they’re called in the rowing world. At some point in the next few years, we can see it actually becoming an athletic sport here at Rose State College.” Rowing can be seen as more of an obscure sport, with many people not really knowing how it works. Rowing can be done singularly or on a team by propelling a boat through the water using oars. Just like any other sport, rowing requires strength, endurance and good technique. “Specifically, for our club, we will have two boats with eight people plus a coxswain, which is the person that is in the back of the boat steering,” Emrich said. “It’s a team sport, we all work to get the boat to move and the point of the race is to get the quickest time.” There are different types of competitions when it comes to rowing and different distances. “We will probably be doing 2 kilometer and 500-meter rows sprint pieces,” Burkhart said. The Rowing Club plans to eventually start competing against OSU-OKC and OCCC. They hope for the first match to be in May. So far, the Rowing Club has been a big hit. The officers reported they have already had 20 people sign up and they expect it to continue to grow. “The main goal of this club is to get people out and having fun, building a team and getting something new,” Emrich said. Rowing Club practice will be taking place at the OKC Boathouse District in Downtown OKC. Practice will take place two days a week and starts the first week of March.
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