World University Games

My name is Peter McHugh and I am a junior collegiate rower at Purdue University. Every two years college students from around the world come together to compete at the World University Games or Universiade- the second largest event next to the Olympics.  Unfortunately, the head of rowing here in the US decided not to fund a team in order to focus on efforts for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Coach Hartsuff of the University of Michigan decided however, that it is important for the United States to be represented on the world stage, so he assembled a team to compete at the 2015 Games in South Korea made up of non-scholarship rowers, myself included. Rowing is a club sport at many universities across the country meaning that we receive no funding from our schools at all for any expenses we incur. That means that it costs thousands of dollars every year for my teammates and I to be able to enjoy the sport that we love. This also means that we are responsible for funding ourselves on our trip to South Korea. I would appreciate any support you can give to make this once in a lifetime opportunity a reality. The United States is the greatest country in the world and I am blessed and honored with this privledge to row for the red, white and blue.

Team USA Universiade website