Welcome to the Saint Ignatius Crew Home Page. For more information please contact head coach Tony Brooks at tony.brooks@ignatius.org.

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.

Spring Preview

The boys and girls of Ignatius Chicago Crew are preparing the boats for an exciting spring season of regattas which will be raced on the North Side, the suburbs and in Ohio.

We have had a great year so far with many medals won and the girl’s team finishing 7th at the Head of the Charles in Boston! On our website is a link to the Sun Times article regarding that thrilling race.

Ignatius Chicago Crew is having a Spring Rower and Parent Meeting for all rowers (and interested students)--*and their parents*--on March 2 at 7:00 in the McLaughlin Room. We would love to welcome new rowers to this fun and exciting sport. There is no obligation to join if you come to the meeting, but you can meet all the rowers and their parents and discover what the Spring Season is like on Crew.

The rowers train on the South Branch of the Chicago River and at an indoor rowing facility near SICP. The JV and Varsity teams practice before school, and the Novice (Freshmen) team after school.

On March 6, we will prepare the Outdoor rowing practice site and ongoing, will be out on the water as weather permits.

Last Season Recap

Ignatius Chicago Crew (ICC) enjoyed a season filled with camaraderie and medals. This true “team” 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 women’s team took home a Bronze Medal in the women’s 4+ race as well as a Bronze in the junior women’s 8+ race. ICC also came in third in the Mixed Boat Race! ICC doesn’t often race mixed boats so this was a special win indeed. The women’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 all 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. Tony Brooks, the current varsity women’s coach, was a Harvard rower and two-time Olympian. He took the men’s team and the adult male chaperones on a tour of the Harvard Men’s Boathouse which was like touring a museum!

The highlight of ICC’s fall season, however, was to witness the women’s 4+ boat finish SEVENTH out of a field of 77 at this very competitive regatta!! It was a spectacular finish in very challenging weather conditions. ICC is a unique team in that it is comprised of men and women who were able to share in the excitement of a great finish for the women. The Sun-Times carried an article regarding Saint Ignatius’ participation and the magnificent performance of the women in this historic race.

On to Columbus, Ohio the weekend of Oct 23rd with one of our women’s 4+ boats again finishing well. They finished 4th in a field of 43 boats and again all other women’s boats were competitive in their field.

Finally, the women of ICC finished the season in Indianapolis with a 2nd place for the 4+ boat and a 3rd place for the 8+ boat. Also in Indy, the men’s teams earned three Gold Medals and one Silver. It was a great season for both the women and the men where improvement was made, teamwork and friendships were strengthened, and pride was brought to Saint Ignatius College Prep.