House Crews Receive Gift of 13 New Shells

Harvard and Radcliffe crew members will be in Cambridge over spring break, rowing in the same boats they use all year.

But upon returning from vacation, participants in the House intramural crew program will find 13 new boats waiting for them.

The boats--which together cost $90,000 to $100,000--were "an anonymous gift from a strong supporter of rowing at Harvard," according to Director of Athletics John P. Reardon Jr. '60.

Reardon said the donor was looking for the part of the rowing program he could help the most and decided that the House crews had the greatest need for new shells.

"The boats we were using before were hand-me-downs from the varsity crew team," said Floyd S. Wilson, director of intramural athletics and recreation.

These "hand-me-down" boats had received fairly hard wear and were in need of many repairs, Wilson added.

"Last year's boats were miserable," said senior Anne Swiatek, a member of the Quincy House crew team, adding, "Every time we'd turn a boat upside down another seat would fall out."

Senior Jeffrey T. Shimbo, a Mather House crew member, said a typical boat used last year was about 20 years old.

"Last year a lot of people complained about the boats," said junior Kevin C. Gaffney, the athletic secretary for North House. "But I just took that as the way things were supposed to be in intramurals."

Although the new boats have already arrived, they will not be used until the House crews begin practicing after vacation.