Waseda University Rowing
The Waseda University Rowing Club (WURC) was founded in 1902. The rowing club was one of the first sports clubs at Waseda. Waseda has a long tradition and culture of honoring the past, but also looking toward the future by letting women start competing in 1955. A race with rival Keio the next year was a milestone for women's rowing in Japan. The Waseda team currently has twenty-two female students and forty-eight male students. The team's season begins in April with the Waseda-Keio Race, the annual fixture established in 1905. The season comes to a close in August with the All-Japan Intercollegiate Rowing Championships. One unique aspect of Waseda Rowing Club is that they offer rowing lessons to children to novice student rowers. It is a tradition at Waseda to develop a rower from learning how to row to competing at an elite level. The latest athlete to emerge from Waseda is Ayami Oishi. She captured bronze in the lightweight women's single sculls at the U23 World Rowing Championships in 2015. There have been many Waseda alumni competing at the highest level. The 1928 Olympic games marked the debut of Waseda rowers, and since then Waseda athletes have competed in nine Olympic games. Waseda University Rowing Club is a rowing club dedicated to developing elite athletes from start to finish (World Rowing).