As Julia Showich exited the stairs on her way to the first-day lunch at Skyline High School, she stopped in her tracks as she noticed the large record board that was placed above entrance to one of the hallways at Skyline High School. This record board had the ten fastest times it took both men and women on her team to finish a 2000 meter race on an indoor rowing machine.

The Skyline Crew records board has been a long time coming, according to head coach Kit Bennett; he has wanted it for the team for 6 to 7 years, which is nearly the age of the program. “I started talking to Gregg Hartsuff the Michigan Men’s Head coach he introduced the idea that it is free speed, it’s free motivation, people want to be on the board,” Bennett said. “It’s an important part [of the team] and it’s leaving a legacy.”

The main response from the rowers has been a bit different. “It’s a good way to show the rest of Skyline what our team does and what it accomplished,” said Ronnie Cantrell, a junior and captain on the team. “We finally have something up at the school, because we don’t have anything at all compared to the other teams.”

Showich agreed with Cantrell, but also saw it as a recruiting standpoint. “Crew isn’t a very recognized sport so it helps bring attention to it and get more people to join,” Showich said.

Both Showich and Cantrell have been asked by friends what the board means and then talked about Skyline Crew after.

The board has gotten not only potential new members of the team talking, but also alumni of the team whose names are on the board talking. Bennett has received many messages from excited passed rowers talking about the board. At the end of the season there will be a tradition of taking down the people who have been taken off the board, and add people who have gotten on. “Then we will mail the people if they have been taken off the board with their little plaque so they get a little reminder that they were on the board. I think when you are an adult out of college that it would be kind of a fun thing to receive from Skyline. It also keeps the alumni engaged, as well,” Bennett said.

Cantrell sees the alumni’s names on the board and becomes motivated. “It’s another person to try and beat because they earned those times, and their time will stay up until somebody beats it,” Cantrell said. This goes hand-in-hand with what Bennett said, calling it “free motivation”.

The placement of the board is important for both Skyline Crew and Michigan Men’s Rowing teams. “It has appeared in our indoor training facility, which has been either the Sports Coliseum or the IMSB,” said Gregg Hartsuff, the Michigan Men’s Rowing Head Coach.  “I put it there because that is where the real work of the year is done, and where we needed to achieve some definite numerical standards on the ergometer for us to be in a position to win in the spring.”

“It will give people a constant reminder about the goals of the team and to help them keep motivated and focused throughout the season and the year, because it is a long year,” Bennett said. The board is placed in a way that everyday during winter training the rowers will walk under the sign in order to begin practice.

However, in some ways that board that each rower must walk under everyday is not fair for some of the smaller team members on the team. Ergs (rowing machines) give the advantage to larger rowers, but a smaller rower could be just as effective on the water but not see the same kind of numbers on the erg. This could become discouraging to see these numbers on the board that are harder for them to attain. Bennett sees their disadvantage, however, he believes on the water results are what matter the most. “They are rewarded through seat racing and singles sculls work. The people that are weight efficient generally perform well on the final testing before actually racing so that is a good way to acknowledge them by getting into a fast boat and hopefully winning a medal at a big race,” Bennett said.

Overall, this board is a step of for Skyline Crew in terms of acknowledgment by the school, recruiting new members, alumni response and the motivation of leaving a legacy. “When we are erging in that hallway (next to record board) it shows people what they want to work for and it is something to strive for while you are erging,” Cantrell said.