USC Crew Half-Yearly Report
2005-06 Year, as of February 8, 2006.

Student Officers:
Captain: Bryan Barrett, Vice-captain: Sterling Brisbin, Freshman Captain: Luke Monroe.

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Gene Kininmonth, Varsity Coach: Joseph Richards, Specialist: James Moore.

Fall Racing Highlights:
USC swept UCLA in the Shell Games regatta and successfully defended the Norris Cup for the 2005 National Collegiate Club Rowing Championships.


Henry Brown (right) with the Trojan Navy at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, England during the 2004 Henley Royal Regatta.

Financials:
$ 14,074.48 04-05 Carry-forward
$135,285.00 YTD Revenue* (gifts, dues, etc)
$149,359.48

2005-06 Budget:
$149,359.48 Revenue
$201,075.00 (Boathouse rent, salaries, travel, etc)

($ 51,716.00) Budget Surplus (deficit)

*Does not include the following anticipated revenue from spring crew dues ($3,000), or student run
ergathon ($10,800).

Equipment purchases/needs:
The Crew purchased a Vespoli/M2 racing eight-man shell in November with funds donated by USC alumnus Henry Brown. A Christening ceremony will be arranged for the spring. Paul White donated an ergometer. The Trojan Navy fleet is now comprised of 5 eights, 3 fours and 2 pairs, although three of these shells are now over a decade old and in disrepair. Requests for $6,500 in funds have been made to various alumni to provide for immediate refurbishments and purchase new coxboxes.

Boathouse Situation:
The Crew received notice in November that its current lease agreement for rack space in Loyola Marymount University’s boathouse in Marina del Rey would not be renewed at the end of the spring semester. LMU coaches cited its expanding collegiate and community programs as the reason for the eviction. After exhausting all possibilities for acquiring a site in the Marina for a new boathouse with L.A. County officials over a three-year period, the Crew has now finalized plans for a return to the Port of Los Angeles. An agreement was reached with USC Athletic Department officials in February for the Men’s Crew to operate its program from outdoor racks on the site of the USC Women’s Boathouse in Wilmington for up to three years. Men’s Crew would be responsible for purchasing an outdoor shelter for its shells ($5,000) and install a second dock at a cost of $30,000.

Discussions are now underway with Athletic Department officials to form a joint venture to build a new boathouse on the women’s site in Wilmington that is large enough to house both the men’s and women’s rowing teams.

Staff Issues:
Efforts by alumni to gain fringe benefits (healthcare, insurance, etc) for the Head Coach again went unrewarded during the fall semester. RecSports staff informed the Crew Board that coaching staff can only receive fringe benefits if their salaries are fundraised in advance of the school’s fiscal year. In spite of this the team will continue to be charged the fringe benefits tax on the head coaches salary by the University per USC policy, which amounts to $12,800.

Fundraising:
To date the Crew Board’s fund raising focus has been on Annual Giving. Going forward the Crew Board will take the following ‘three legged stool’ approach to fundraising:
1) Annual Giving
2) Capital Giving – for major assets such as boats, a boathouse, etc.
3) Deferred/Planned Giving – wills, pledges etc. typically for funding an endowment.

Honoring Alumni:
The 2006 Trojan Navy Banquet for all alumni, crew and parents will return to the Ports-O-Call Restaurant on Saturday April 29th starting with cocktails at 6:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm. This year’s banquet will serve to honor the 50th anniversary of the ‘Trojan Crew of 1956’ and its infamous victory over Cal Berkeley on Ballona Creek. Tickets for the event are $150/head.