Springfield local Marc Larvie has been selected to represent the United States at the 2018 World University Championships in Shanghai, China, Aug. 10-12, 2018. A 6' 3", 210 lb. sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech, Larvie is a 2016 West Springfield High School graduate, and competed in rowing with the West Springfield Crew Team, coached by Matthew Petty. Larvie is the son of John and Virginie Larvie.
While at Georgia Tech, Larvie has been coached by Mike Gibel, and has competed in fours, eights, pairs, and sculling boats. In Fall of 2017, Larvie rowed in the Men’s Varsity 8. In the spring of 2017, Larvie rowed in in the Men’s Varsity Four, winning gold medals at the Dad Vails Regatta and the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) Championships. In the fall of 2018, Larvie again competed in the Men’s Varsity 8, and in the spring of 2018 won a silver medal in the Men’s Varsity 4 at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Regatta and gold in the Men’s Quad at ACRA. In March of this year, Head Coach of the University of Michigan and World University Championships Men’s Rowing Team Gregg Hartsuff selected Larvie to what he expects to be a 50-athlete squad composed of athletes from universities across the United States. These athletes will train together on Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, Michigan May 31-Aug. 3, 2018, competing first in the USRowing National Championships July 11-15 at Cooper River in Camden, N.J., and then traveling to Shanghai, China to compete for the United States in the 2018 World University Championships Aug. 10-12, 2018.
Expected costs for the team’s journey will be over $160,000. The burden of this budget falls on the athletes and coaches of this team, and they will be paying the costs out-of-pocket unless athletes can raise the money through donations and sponsorship. To learn more about the team’s upcoming experience, or to make a tax-deductible donation to defray their costs, please visit the team website: https://www.wucusarowing2018.com/sponsorship or Marc’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/send-Marc-to-WUC.
Sponsorship is welcome, and the team can provide exposure for sponsors via their website, athlete blogs during training and competition, press releases, apparel, and equipment.