Illini Rowing is a club
college rowing program that represents the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...
. Both the men's and women's teams that make up the program are members of the
American Collegiate Rowing Association American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) is one of the governing bodies of college rowing in the United States, together with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA).
History
Estab ...
(ACRA) in the Great Lakes Region. The program operates as a registered student organization (RSO) at the University of Illinois. The university does not currently have an NCAA
varsity team and the club program is the highest level of competitive rowing offered by the University. As of 2014, the program has attained two ACRA national titles for their wins in the Women's Novice Four event in both 2012 and 2014 at the ACRA National Championships. The Illini Rowing Men's crew has captured the team's only state champion titles, winning in both 2013 and 2014. The Women's team has fallen short each year, losing to the University of Chicago both years.
Facilities
The Illini Rowing team's on-water practices are held at the Clinton Lake Rowing Center in
Farmer City, Illinois. This is also where the team hosts the Illinois Collegiate Rowing Invitational. The Clinton Lake Rowing Center was built by the team in 2016 after leaving their previous practice site on Homer Lake in
Homer, Illinois
Homer is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,073 at the 2020 census.
History
Homer grew from a settlement named Union, which was on the Fort Clark or State Road running between Danville and Urbana, nea ...
. Future developments for the center are planned including the construction of a 3-bay boathouse, improved dock systems, and an expansion to a fully buoyed 8-lane course. Off-water practices are usually held at the
Activities and Recreation Center on the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
campus. The team also uses it as a base to stores it's
ergometers and host tryouts.
Illinois Collegiate Rowing Invitational
The Illini Rowing Team has hosted the Illinois Collegiate Rowing Invitational (ICRI) annually since 2013. Originally only five clubs were invited. The regatta has been growing steadily. In 2018, fifteen teams from across the Midwest competed. ICRI takes place every year on the third Saturday in April at the Clinton Lake Rowing Center outside of
Farmer City. The Illini Rowing Team have set up a six-lane two-kilometer racecourse on the lake. Since 2018, the site has also been hosting the Illinois Junior Rowing Invitational for junior clubs in the region. It takes place the Sunday after ICRI.
References
External links
www.illinirowing.com
{{University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus
Illinois Fighting Illini