Ergathon

Video by Mike Gill.

See more photos at smugmug. Thanks, Eric!

After a sunny and brisk early morning practice on the estuary, the women's varsity and novice teams headed back to BHS Saturday morning to gather the erg machines and set up for the team's annual Ergathon fundraiser, held this year in downtown Berkeley. Parent volunteer Jim Clara had organized an efficient cadre of parents to raise the team canopies that shelter the team food and merchandise for sale.

"I am really impressed with how our Crew families stepped up to help stage this event. We had 20 people working the food table, merchandise, signage, delivering supplies, keeping an eye out for safety. Special thanks to Cindy Phillips-Romick for organizing the food table and John Godin, Jim Meador and Tres Fontaine worked the entire day until the last item was packed in the truck," he said.

Let the rowing begin. On land, that is! The Berkeley High Crew Team's annual ergathon is days away with the event happening this Saturday, December 3rd. Set up starts at 9am at MLK Civic Center Park, near the north side of the fountain. The park is adjacent to BHS. The women's team will arrive around 10 and the men's around noon. We expect to be done by 3pm. Come on down and support the Team!

If you are wondering what all of this is about, check out this short video clip from the 2010 ergathon.  And we'll see you there! 

On November 5^th, 98 members of the BHS Mens’ and Womens’ Crew Teams put their pens to paper (and bagels to mouth) and wrote literally thousands of letters requesting support for the 2011 fundraising Erg-A-Thon. This is one of the most important Crew Team fundraisers of the year, so if you receive one in the mail, be sure to pay attention….it’s not junk mail!  The funds go towards many important needs such as scholarships, equipment, as well as boathouse rent. Remember, crew at Berkeley High is self supporting.  Rowers, congrats for all of your efforts

Hello Crew Families,

The Erg-a-thon is our team's major fundraising event of the year. Last year it provided about 37% of the annual budget and financial support for 30% of the team. This year's goal is $75,000. 

The first part, the erg-a-thon letter writing is Saturday, November 5. It is time to complete your mailing list. Remember, 30 letters is rewarded with an iTunes gift card. We expect all rowers to send out a minimum of 20 letters. If you are a varsity or inspired novice rower, prepare a personal insert of "crew appreciations" and/or photo.

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Volunteer opportunities:
Please let me know now if you are interested in or curious about working on the erg-a-thon, and if you have a preference for a task, which day (or both) and your phone number. You do not have to commit now.

Pre-letter writing volunteers:
•Print labels of rowers addresses

Day-of volunteers (letter writing, Nov 5 and erg-a-thon Dec 3):

•Food service
•Set up/material prep/monitoring

Ongoing (Nov 15-Jan 15):
•Donation data entry in excel at your home

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This week:
1. Email your addressed label sheets (Avery 5160 template) to me by Wednesday night (Nov 2) and I will distribute to volunteers to print them. They will be delivered to the library for the letter writing.

2. Letter-writing (Saturday, Nov 5) Rowers assemble at the BHS library directly after practice at JLAC. Envelopes, stamps, letters, pens, lunch/snack provided. Rowers brings their inserts. Volunteers help prepare mailing materials and supplies.

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ergathon flyer_11sep19.pdf

This year's Ergathon turned out to be very successful, given the state of the economy. BHS Crew thanks everyone – family members, friends, colleagues and acquaintances – who gave a donation in support of our rowers..

Ergathon 'thank-you' letter writing will take place on Saturday, Jan 29th at BHS, in the library.

Ergathon organizers will provide a pre-printed thank you letter for each donor.  The letter will include donor's name and amount donated as well as our Tax ID, so this will serve as the tax receipt. Rowers will need to:
- personalize the thank you letter
- address and stamp the envelope
- make sure the correct letter goes in the correct envelope

Key things to know about the event:
- rowers should go directly to BHS after practice
- food will be provided
- rowers are encouraged to bring pre-printed address labels

Ken B

Both the girls and boys crew teams recently made their presence known among the holiday shoppers at Fourth Street in Berkeley.  The Annual Ergathon was held on Saturday, December 4^th. 

The girls team got things going at about 9am, followed by the boys at about noon.  This event follows the team’s fall letter writing campaign.  If you’ve received your rower’s letter, please be generous and send in your donation, as this is the team’s most important fund-raising event of the year. If you didn’t receive a letter and would like to help, please use the “Donate” button. Thanks for your help!

Sponsor a rower today!

Berkeley High Crew is gearing up for its 2010 Ergathon.  Letter-writing day will be here before you know it.  Look for more communications about the ergathon right here.  In the mean time, here's a template for your labels (download, .doc, 27.5KB).

For stories about last year's ergathon, please see ergathon2009.