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Welcome to the Saint Ignatius Crew Home Page. For more information
please contact head coach Rich Sims at rich.sims@ignatius.org.
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Introduction
Ignatius Chicago Crew is a competitive rowing team composed of
male and female Saint Ignatius College Prep student athletes. The ICC is supported
and operated by parents of current rowers. Although the ICC is not officially sponsored
by Ignatius, it is part of the Wolfpack club sports program, and ICC team members
are eligible to earn Saint Ignatius numerals and letters. Approximately 60 SICP
students row for Ignatius Crew in a typical year and compete in the fall and spring.
Crew is the ultimate team sport and requires a full commitment and maximum effort
from each athlete who participates. Ignatius Crew is recognized among the strongest
programs in the Midwest. We do not have "cuts" and no prior rowing experience
or knowledge is expected.
Last Season Recap
Ignatius Chicago Crew (ICC) enjoyed a season filled with camaraderie and medals.
This true team sport traveled far and wide and picked up many medals along the way.
After many weeks of training on the South Branch of the Chicago River and at our
indoor training facility, ICC started the season on a beautiful fall day in Green
Bay, Wisconsin on the Fox River. There, our men’s 4+ boat took 1st place and in
a mixed event (men and women) our 4+ boat also took 1st place!! ICC doesn’t often
race mixed boats so this was a special win indeed. The men’s novice team took to
the water for a race for the first time and were competitive in their race and exhilarated
to be at their first regatta with the exciting sights and sounds of high schools,
colleges and open teams competing all in the same place. The Head of the Rock was
next in Rockford, Illinois.—a much larger regatta with many more entries. All of
our rowers - men and women - were competitive in their individual races.
The farthest ICC travels is to Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Head of the Charles
Regatta. This is the world’s largest two-day regatta and is held on the Charles
River going through Harvard University. What a historic race and a privilege it
is to row in this regatta. The women's coach, Mr. Tony Brooks, a Harvard rowing alum and two-time Olympian, took the rowers and adult men chaperones on a tour of the Harvard Boathouse which is much like a museum with the history and grandeur of rowing illustrated throughout. An 8+ boat represented ICC well. We finished 60th
of 79 boats. It is a very challenging course and ICC improved their finish over
past years. Also, it was very exciting to see the women’s side of ICC garner a 7th
place finish out of 77 boats! It was a spectacular finish in challenging weather
conditions. ICC is a unique team comprised of men and women who shared in the excitement
of a great finish for the women. The Sun-Times carried an article regarding Saint
Ignatius’ participation in this historic race.
On to Columbus, Ohio the weekend of Oct 23rd with our men’s 4+ boat again finishing
well. They finished 2nd in a field of 36 boats and again, all other boats were competitive
in their field.
Finally, the men’s team of ICC finished the season with a bang in Indianapolis with
both men’s 4+ boats (JV/Varsity) finishing in 1st and 2nd place in their race and
the men’s 4+ novice boat also finishing in 1st! It was a very exciting end to a
fun season where much improvement was made, teamwork and friendships were strengthened,
and pride was brought to Saint Ignatius College Prep.