In the cool afternoon breeze, the Arkansas River was filled with paddle boats, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and boat rides as Wichita State’s rowing team hosted its annual S’mores and Oars event.
Freshman rower Liz Mueting said that meeting the rowers before their first practice can assist the new athletes in being less intimidated.
“It’s nice to meet other people, so you’re not alone at practice,” Mueting said.
Assistant rowing coach Rachel Tuck sees the event as an opportunity to recruit students for rowing.
Tuck said she enjoys watching athletes from a different perspective, such as when they interact with the public and socialize with one another outside of rowing.
She said the event is also a great chance for students to see downtown.
“This is a fun event whether these students ever come back or not,” Tuck said. “They get to socialize with one another as they’re showcasing who they are to people.”
Junior Daniel Ryan attends the event each year and looks forward to meeting new students while also having fun at a unique venue outside of campus.
“With all of the activities they have, even if people aren’t wanting to do the rowing, they have all of the ground activities like s’mores, a bunch of games, (and) they have fishing now, which wasn’t here last year (and) a lot of people seem to enjoy that,” Ryan said.
Senior rower Lizzie Koonce helped set up the event with her team.
Koonce has been rowing for three years and said being on the shocker rowing is a privilege when she gets to wake up early and see the sunset with her friends.
“Seeing all different types of my friends, they’re all in different friend groups here, and that’s really fun because I get to introduce them to each other and see them have fun (with) something I get to do every day,” Koonce said. “This is a change of pace, but you learn the most when you’re teaching.”
More information about the Wichita State rowing team can be found at wichita.edu.
