NCAA Championship: Missing Trophies and Misplaced Porta Potties

On the NCAA website under “Mission and Priorities,” one of the priorities listed is to “deliver excellent and inclusive championships.” On the weekend of June 2, the 2024 NCAA rowing championship was held outside of Bethel, Ohio, and it was far from excellent and inclusive.

As the championship event for all DI, DII, and DIII women’s rowing teams, the event drew over 800 female athletes. But this year, like past years, did not feel like a championship-caliber event, and it’s time the NCAA got its priorities straight for women’s rowing.

On our way in, we saw no signage directing athletes or spectators to the event, never mind a banner advertising it or welcoming athletes to their national championship. The only clue about what was going on at the park that weekend was a minuscule “Regatta” sign with an arrow pointing toward the parking lot. While this complaint may seem “petty” and “entitled,” this made the event feel like an afterthought, and certainly not like a national championship for over 800 athletes.

Multiple teams, including my own, were assigned spots next to the portable toilets. We had to unload our trailer, rig our boats, and warm up for competition while smelling the waste, which made some of my teammates nauseous and could have hindered their athletic performance.

In planning the event, this disturbance could have been avoided easily. Not to mention these outdoor bathrooms were used by all the athletes and staff, including male staff. They were the only private place where athletes could change. How is this “excellence” and “inclusivity” when we as women had no dedicated place to change and go to the bathroom separate from our male coaches?

Due to the outdoor nature of rowing, we don’t have access to locker rooms that most other sports do. For event planners, providing a space for us to change and go to the bathroom, even if we share it with other teams, should be a matter of utmost importance.

Moreover, our hotels were a 40-minute drive away, and there was nowhere comfortable to change before beginning the journey back. Sitting in sweaty clothing for 40 minutes is unsanitary and could be a health hazard. There were also no handwashing stations available, a basic hygiene necessity that should always be provided.

In the past, a trophy has always been awarded to the fourth-place team. This year, that team was Princeton, whose members arrived at the podium for the trophy ceremony only to learn that no trophy would be presented. Regardless of whether it was stated in the event handbook, the coaches should have been told about it explicitly during their meeting.

When you expect a trophy for your athletic achievement, it’s very disappointing to find out there is not one for you. I realize that most sports don’t have a fourth-place trophy, and in the grand scheme of things it’s understandable why the NCAA doesn’t provide one anymore (for many sports, not just rowing). But the fact that the change in policy was not made abundantly clear before the competition was extremely inconsiderate.

Furthermore, the spectator area was arranged poorly. The big screen was set up behind the spectator bleachers. This is comparable to the big screen of a horserace being behind the grandstands. Sure, you can still squint at the race on the other side of the track, but wouldn’t it be better to watch it on the big screen?

Under “Grow the College Sports Ecosystem” on the NCAA’s list of priorities, a bullet points states that the NCAA will “enable quality access and viewing for all who want it.” The spectator area at this championship did not measure up to what the NCAA supposedly aims to provide.

The live streaming of the event also was not up to par with the NCAA’s stated goal. The live footage didn’t do the racing justice. You couldn’t see the effort or the emotion that went on inside of the boats. The reason rowing isn’t considered a spectator sport is that the people in charge of covering it do the bare minimum and provide no sense of passion. Where are the up-close shots of the athletes at the start line? Where are the names on the screen identifying who’s in what boat? When you show the emotion within the sport and make it personal, you build passion for the sport and the people.

My frustration is specifically with the NCAA, whose interest in women’s rowing appears to be solely to comply with Title IX, not to grow the college-rowing ecosystem, as its mission statement claims. All I’m asking for is a little more respect for rowing and more effort put into our competitions. Other sports, such as volleyball, track & field, basketball, and softball, have been elevated and put into the public eye through collegiate athletics. The opposite is true for rowing.

Ironically, rowing was the first collegiate sport and has an interesting history that influenced the structure of many other sports. The Olympic committee borrowed a lot of practices from the Stewards of the Royal Henley Regatta, the most prestigious regatta in the world. People used to come from all over to watch college teams compete, and now the pinnacle of women’s rowing in the U.S. is hidden away, 40 minutes outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the middle of the woods.

When it comes to rowing, the proclaimed priorities of the NCAA have been ignored, and it’s time that changes.

Etta Carpender is a two-time NCAA national champion from Denver, Colo., and rowed in the 5-seat of the Texas varsity eight at this year’s championship.

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