Going House

The first hints of orange sunlight are peaking over the horizon and most Harvard students are either sound asleep or finishing up a paper due at 9 a.m. Across campus, however, a few heads are rolling off their pillows and stumbling toward the Charles as they prepare to row for House pride. With a long history, House crew has risen to be one of the most popular of intramural sports.

Though the level of involvement in intramural crew varies from House to House, all of the boats bleed with enthusiasm. Christopher "Topher" Row, a Kirkland assistant senior tutor, who is known throughout the House crew network for his involvement and interest in the sport, confirms this, commenting that "the spirit and enthusiasm surrounding the Kirkland House Boat Club is simply astounding." Students get up at 5:40 a.m. five times a week to participate, despite midterms, theses and the like.

How does House crew compare with varsity, a canonical Ivy League sport surrounded in lore and mystery? The relationship between the two is actually often one of nostalgia. A number of House crew rowers are former varsity or novice rowers who were unable to continue that level of involvement in crew for whatever reason, but find House crew a less-time-consuming outlet for their desire to be on the water. House crew does allow current crewheads to participate--varsity rowers may cox and varsity coxes may row. House crew also gives people who have no experience with rowing the opportunity to get inside some of that "lore and mystery."

The friendliness, though, can quickly transform into characteristic intensity. Shannon E. Tracey, a Mather House senior, who formerly rowed novice Radcliffe crew, warns that "it does get intense, and while it's a different kind of experience--we're a little more rowdy in the boat than varsity crew is--it's pretty serious as far as goals. We want to win."

Susan E. Phillips, a Cabot House resident tutor and crew head, warns that "some of the crews are really strong and quite fast. And of course there are rivalries--some long standing ones: Eliot, Winthrop and Kirkland have been the men's crews to beat. Dudley, Dunster and Cabot have been the women's crews to beat, but there's some change every year. We'll see how it all ends up in May."