Boats and Bikes, a partnership with Wichita State’s rowing team, offers many activities and opportunities for both students and the community of Wichita. 

Boats and Bikes is partnered with WSU for the campus rowing team and recreational program. They also offer rentals for trikes, scooters, bicycles, pedal boats and kayaks, for those looking to spend some time on the river or riding in town.

The WSU official Rowing team trains out of the Boats and Bikes facility. In the fall semester they spend the majority of their time training under head coach Calvin Cupp with the help from his assistant coaches. Cupp said that they are a more than one dimensional organization, their main focus is the student athletes but they offer a lot of opportunities for activities and community involvement. 

“It’s another resource and activity and opportunity that students have access to and to enrich their experience,” Cupp said 

Between the various activities and opportunities they offer for students, faculty and staff, and to the community, they have to find their balance in the busy seasons. 

“Think of it like a bicycle wheel okay, not the new fangled carbon fiber thing but old school spokes right,” Cupp said, “At the center you have your student athletes, but everything else we do around that creates another spoke and you know the more of those you have, the more stability you have.”

“We do have others that help us, it’s not just the two of us,” Rachel Tuck, assistant coach and office manager for Shocker Rowing, said. “But that way we can figure out who’s best suited for what.” 

Tuck said that the pandemic brought in student athletes looking for a team support system, craving the interaction and friendships you make through training and competing with a team. 

“With COVID-19, a lot of student athletes really wanted that experience of ‘I want to be on a team, I want to go after something because it got taken away from me,’” Tuck said. “We had almost everyone who walked out, wanted to do competitive versus recreation.” 

While they had quite a bit that decided to go competitive, Cupp and Tuck said that they still had good interest from seniors or maybe families still interested in a recreational team. 

They are looking forward to the Smores and Oars event next Wednesday, hoping to bring in more student awareness of the opportunities offered. Bringing in at least 250 the last time it was held, they hope to bring in just as many if not more this year. 

“We’ll put all the kayaks out and you can go pedal boating,” Tuck said, “We’ll have lots of activities you can do with your Shocker ID, and we’ll have smores. You can go around the dock actually on a boat and push off and do a little loop around here with some other rowers and maybe get a feel for how the team works.” 

Smores and Oars will be on Wednesday Aug. 25th from 6-8 p.m. at the Boats and Bikes facility at 150 North McLean, a free event Shockers are encouraged to attend.