SEATTLE -- "Welcome back ... now grab an oar!"
 
Coach Andrew Derrick won't be that blunt when alumni return to the Brougham Pavilion Shellhouse on Homecoming Weekend. But he will need to provide equipment for a handful of returnees who choose to take part in the Alumni-Novice Race.
 
A crew comprised of former Falcons from various years will take on Seattle Pacific's first-year rowers on Saturday morning in the traditional Alumni Race as part of the school's Homecoming activities throughout the campus.
 
The two eight-oared crews will race Feb. 8 at 9:30 a.m. on the Lake Washington Ship Canal for 1,000-meters. The crews will start at the Fremont Bridge and row westbound, ending at the dock just northwest of Brougham Pavilion. The course covers half the distance of a typical 2,000-meter competition.
 
"We're going back to the original tradition, which is novice versus alumni," explained Derrick, in his fourth season at the helm of the Falcons women's rowing program.
 
"Our team has grown enough so that we have a squad of novices and don't have to fill it out with returning team members. We're excited to have a practice for our returners and then let this be the novices first race."
 
A dozen novices joined the team in the fall, many of them with no prior rowing experience. They were added to an experienced squad that returns 12 of the 14 athletes who competed at the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships.
 
The Falcons finished fourth in the final team standings at last year's national regatta, fueled by fourth-place performances from both their varsity eight and varsity four crews.
 
Derrick has a simple goal for Saturday's Alumni event.
 
"We try to keep everyone dry. We're here to have a good time and give a chance for the alumni to connect back to a time that they hold very dear. It also provides an opportunity for our current team to get to connect with people who came before them."
 
The configuration of the alumni crew isn't completely set, but the coaching staff was contacted by a rower from the 1980s who expressed interest in participating Saturday. She will row alongside alums from other decades, including a few recent graduates.
 
This is the 43rd year of women's rowing at Seattle Pacific and the 48th overall as a men's team began competing in the 1972-73 academic year.
 
"As we close in on 50 years of SPU rowing it's really important that we are reaching out and making sure that these connections are strong as we get ready for the half centennial," Derrick said.