San Diego State, UCSD and USD will take to the waters of Mission Bay at the San Diego Crew Classic (SDCC) later this month, but how do the local universities stock their boats when no San Diego high schools offer rowing? “Well, they recruit from all over, of course,” SDCC’s executive director Martha Shumaker said. San Diego athletes, especially girls, could be missing the boat when it comes to rowing scholarships. Shumaker counts Title IX, which, by law, requires equality in men and women’s athletics, as a substantial reason for the growth of the sport for collegiate women. “It’s an NCAA sport now, and it has been added at a lot of colleges to help balance those big football teams,” Shumaker said. “You can have a squad of 40, which is fairly typical.” Shumaker’s daughter, Betty Shumaker Pauly, found success in the sport and at the coxswain position, which is the person in the back of the boat and the only one facing forward. Shumaker counts the position as the coach on the water during the race. Her daughter earned a partial scholarship to the University of Virginia. “Everyone in her class that she graduated from at ZLAC rowing club, that was 2001, received a full scholarship offer from colleges,” Shumaker said. If a high school student in San Diego wishes to compete in the sport, they join San Diego Rowing Club (SDRC) or ZLAC Rowing Club. ZLAC is the country’s oldest women’s rowing club, and SDRC is for both men and women. The East Coast offers a much different approach. “Certainly you look at the Washington, D.C., area and there are hundreds of high school programs,” Shumaker said. “In California, seriously, there’s really only a handful. And most of those high school programs are in the Bay Area. If you want to row and you are in high school in Southern California, it’s strictly for a club program.” Despite this, West Coast colleges have really stepped up to the oar. “I’d say it’s becoming an even mix at the collegiate level,” Shumaker said. “There’s been a tilt toward the West as far as the top crews are concerned with Cal and the University of Washington consistently succeeding at the National Championship, where as previously that was not the case. But there are more programs out here that are doing better.”