As the spring season gears up, the women's and men's crew teams embarked on a 24-hour ergathon to raise funds for their Spring Break training.
Between 4 p.m. last Friday and 4 p.m. last Saturday, two rowing machines were continually erged by team members over the course of the 24 hours. Members of the crew team were assigned a time slot and were sponsored for three-hour shifts.
When most Bowdoin students were fast asleep or partaking in a wild night, the rowers continued to erg.
"There were people manning the ergs all night, even in the two to five a.m. range," said crew member and event organizer Morgan Andersen '12.
The ergathon is an annual fundraiser to help the team attend a training camp over Spring Break. According to Andersen, the event works very similarly to Relay for Life, in which participants are sponsored by family or friends.
"It's somewhat similar to a Relay for Life...fundraiser in the setup, since you basically get sponsored to spend a good chunk of time working out," he said.
Andersen also mentioned that the ergathon was morale-boosting, giving the crew team an opportunity to get rowdy for the new season.
"Beyond the fiscal bottom line, it was also an opportunity for the team to have a bit of a presence on campus for a day, which is always a good thing," said Andersen. "After all, we're in a strange position of being a club team funded partially through the SAFC and partially through outside donations."
This season marks the 25th anniversary of crew as a sports team at Bowdoin, and the fundraiser starts of the beginning of this commemorative year.
A competitive season is on the horizon for the crew team; the Polar Bears will face fierce competition from both D-II and D-III teams.
Despite the relatively small size of the crew team and the steep challenges from more established and competitive teams, Andersen noted the strength of the members.
"All in all, we have a great pool of men and women this year," she said. "We're fired up, and we're going to go after it every day."