"As you probably know, since 1964 the Harvard crew has been one of the most successful athletic units in the world."

So reads the letter which Harvard heavyweight crew Coach Harry Parker sent out to almost 100 freshmen in July. The letter goes on to detail the Crimson's past successes on the water--in both international and intercollegiate competitions, on both the varsity and freshman levels.

Both Harvard's and Radcliffe's rowing records are not only consistently impressive--more important, they're impressively consistent. Few are the years in which a Crimson boat or rower hasn't won some major award.

To maintain its winning record from year to year, the Harvard and Radcliffe rowing programs need more than its extensive facilities and good coaching. They need a steady supply of rowers.

And where do all those sweeps come from?

Of course, the coaches benefit from the enthusiasm veteran scholastic rowers have for both Harvard and Radcliffe programs.

Juliet Thompson '89 rowed on the varsity for four years at St. Paul's, and plans to row with the Radcliffe crew this spring. The Radcliffe program's reputation was a factor in her decision to come to Cambridge.

"The program is well known," she says. "If you're in the so-called 'rowing circuit,' you're familiar with it."

Brooks School graduate (and its 1985 varsity crew captain) Donald Fawcett '89 agrees with Thompson. "Harvard has the finest program on the college level," he says. "Mainly due to its facilities and coaching. There was never a question in my mind whether it was best."

To maintain the reputation that draws so many high-school rowers, the Harvard and Radcliffe coaches engage--to varying degrees--in recruiting talented oarsmen.

Lisa Stone, the Radcliffe heavyweight coach, says, "We go to the high schools and prep schools which we know have strong programs. We keep an eye open for rowers who have the necessary academic credentials."

Fawcett describes being recruited to row for the Crimson. "They sent me a few letters, and invited me up here to take a look at the facilities, even though I was already familiar with them."

The Radcliffe programs don't recruit nearly as actively, in Thompson's view. "I had to seek out the coaches--they didn't come to me. I didn't receive any information on the crew program until I wrote and specifically requested some. It was the same with the other colleges I applied to."

The combination of recruting--no matter how active--and the crew program's reputation convinces many veteran rowers to train on the Charles for four years. "Crew is a big time commitment," Fawcett says. "And I decided it would be best to spend all that time with the best program possible."

But Radcliffe doesn't seek talent only in scholastic rowing programs. "In fact," Lisa Stone says, "most of our recruiting is done here, once people got to Harvard."