[Vandelay]

Lightweight rowing has always been its own sport by tradition, which is why they were not picked up with openweight women's rowing by the NCAA.  Few schools sponsor varsity lightweight teams of either gender, and the weight issue is somewhat contentious since it can motivate some unhealthy behaviors.  It's expensive to have a dedicated lightweight team -- the boats are slightly different (smaller for less athlete weight), sometimes you buy shorter oars, and you need dedicated coaching staff plus a nutritionist on call.  What you don't want to do is incentivize every 5'10" athlete to lose too much weight trying to make it to 130 lbs.

Yes, the demise of lightweight rowing on the west coast is sad.  It was a much bigger deal 35 years ago when I was in college.  Now, I believe large regattas like the San Diego Crew Classic don't even host lightweight events anymore.  The irony is that lightweights are, IMO, better athletes than the open weight rowers.  It is great that Stanford remains committed to a national caliber lightweight rowing program.

[Vandelay]

Lightweight rowing has always been its own sport by tradition, which is why they were not picked up with openweight women's rowing by the NCAA.  Few schools sponsor varsity lightweight teams of either gender, and the weight issue is somewhat contentious since it can motivate some unhealthy behaviors.  It's expensive to have a dedicated lightweight team -- the boats are slightly different (smaller for less athlete weight), sometimes you buy shorter oars, and you need dedicated coaching staff plus a nutritionist on call.  What you don't want to do is incentivize every 5'10" athlete to lose too much weight trying to make it to 130 lbs.

Yes, the demise of lightweight rowing on the west coast is sad.  It was a much bigger deal 35 years ago when I was in college.  Now, I believe large regattas like the San Diego Crew Classic don't even host lightweight events anymore.  The irony is that lightweights are, IMO, better athletes than the open weight rowers.  It is great that Stanford remains committed to a national caliber lightweight rowing program.