On Friday, October 14, the Carnegie Mellon Crew Team spent seven hours "erging" in a fundraising event aptly called "Erg-O-Mania." From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., members rotated on multiple rowing machines, rowing for an hour each. Each member aimed to "row" 10-16,000 meters (15,800 meters was the record at 4 p.m.). According to Georgia Bullen, HSS senior and Crew Team treasurer, after Erg-O-Mania "everyone's exhausted. Some rowers still have practice today, too." Erg-O-Mania was a joint fundraiser with Habitat for Humanity, with a portion of the money raised by the Crew Team going to Habitat.

As the rowing progressed, baked goods were also sold to bring in extra revenue. Habitat provided the baked goods, showing the true partnership of the two groups to help each other out. The Crew Team also sold sponsored t-shirts and accepted donations to buy ten power strokes for a specific rower.

Erg-O-Mania is just one of many simultaneous fundraising events sponsored by the Crew Team. Another big event is Rent-a-Rower, through which people at Carnegie Mellon and in the local Pittsburgh area can "rent a rower" at $12 per hour to have them help out with chores. Rent-a-Rower goes on all-year long. The Crew Team also sells roses in the spring and they have an Erg Race around Valentine's Day with the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, and Duquesne University also competing.

The Crew Team has practices in the morning and in the afternoon. The afternoon practice is for new rowers and the early practice is for experienced rowers. That much practicehas truly paid off. According to Bullen, the crew team is "really strong this fall."

The Crew Teamhad their first regatta on October 1 at the Head of the Ohio River (HOTO), which was a 6,000 meter race. This was the first time in team history that the novice teams were allowed to race at HOTO, and all participants fared well. The Women's Eight came in first place, winning the Governor's Cup. The Women's Lightweight Four came in third, with the Men's Novice Eight and Four coming in second, and the Women's Novice Four coming in third.

The next regatta was the Head of the Charles River in Boston on October 22-23, which hosts boats coming from Europe as well as America. It is the world's largest two-day rowing event and Carnegie Mellon sent four boats, the most in the Crew Team's history. The Men's Heavyweight Four came in 16 out of 38. The Women's Open Four came in 14 out of 34. The Men's Novice Four came in 40 out of 43. And, the Women's Lightweight Four came in 11 out of 17.

The team's third regatta is the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia on October 29.

Bullen commented that the Crew Team has a new coaching staff this year, so it is especially pleasing to see the team continuing its strong winning trend from last year. In spring 2005, the Women's Open Pair won the gold medal at Nationals, with the Women's Light Weight Four coming in third place. Given last year's record, and this year's continued strength, Bullen and the rest of the team are "looking forward to this year."

For more information about the Tartan Crew Team, visit their website.

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