While most people are reaching for the snooze button, trying to get those few extra minutes of sleep, a select group of men are making their way to the water, about to descend on a journey across Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova.

The men?s rowing team, a club sport at Sacramento State, requires dedication and endurance. When school starts in the fall, and until it lets out in the spring, the rowing team will be conditioning and training for races.

Although it is not a sanctioned sport of Sac State, the rowing team will compete against schools such as University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Davis, and Stanford University. Sac State is part of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association.

Head coach Sam Sweitzer prepares his team for the tough competition, and that helps the team compete against these more established programs.

“Our main competition is Davis, Stanford and Cal. These are the only programs we got beat by this year,” Sweitzer said. “Davis is the top WIRA men?s program.”

Even though the team will race throughout the season, practice dominates the amount of time spent preparing. Practices consist of running, lifting weights and rowing. Rowing amounts to 75 percent of practices.

In the fall, the team practices five days a week, in the early hours of the morning. In the spring, Sweitzer increases practices to six days a week, and for a few weeks every year the team will conduct two-a-day practices. This happens during the two weeks before the spring semester and during spring break.Now that the cold weather has set in, practices in the early morning hours can be frigid on the water.

“The level of dedication to do (rowing) is unbelievable,” junior Barrett Lyon said.

Practice starts out with a three-mile jog to get the body loose. Some members are running three miles in 15 to16 minutes. Once the running is over, there is no time for relaxation, it?s down to the water for an eight-mile jaunt. The first four miles take the rowers out, while the four miles back are treated like a race.The elements and early morning practices are what set the rowing team and its crew apart from other athletes.

“Dealing with the elements and being on the water, that?s what makes us different. We?re outside. We have to be to do what we have to do.”

The rowing team consists of about 30 members, with half being varsity and the other half novice. Novices are individuals who are new and are gaining experience with rowing.

“Everyone gets a chance to participate, unlike other sports,” Sweitzer said.

During the spring, most races are sprint races, but during the fall, there are head races, which are three-to-four miles long.This year, the team has participated in two races. The first race of the season, The Head of the American, at Lake Natoma on Oct. 27, the rowing team fared very well.

In the men?s open four, the team finished in first place, while in the men?s lightweight four, Sac State finished second just behind UC Davis. The team also competed in the men?s open eight, and finished in fifth behind Stanford and UC Davis.A week later, the team traveled to Long Beach and participated in the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival.

For the novices, the team took part in the men?s frosh/novice eight and finished third with Stanford placing in first. In the men?s open four, Sac State finished third, behind Cal.

Because the program is not funded by Sac State, racing and training is not the only thing the team must worry about. Since rowing is a club sport, each member must pay $160 a semester for club dues, as well as take part in fundraisers. Equipment costs more than $20,000 with entry fees and traveling costs added to the bill. Fundraising and club dues help offset the costs of equipment, traveling and entry costs.

Even though the rowing team is a club sport and must support the program through fundraising and out-of-pocket costs, that does not detract from the spirit or determination of the team.

“It?s always had good spirit and effort from its athletes. It?s grown stronger,” Sweitzer said. “This program is known for racing well.”