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Editor: 

My daughter is on the novice women's crew team at BHS. I think it is absurd to even CONSIDER not giving P.E. credit for this sport. These girls get up at 4:30 a.m. every weekday to go to Lake Merritt and practice for two hours. 

They get themselves back to school on time for class. This sport is intense and the practices are year-round and grueling! Crew is very well-organized, well-coached and very educational.  

Being on the team requires conditioning, nutrition awareness, self-discipline, teamwork, and extreme dedication. I can't imagine any P.E. class requiring this degree of effort or imparting this degree of education.  

The team is diverse. Scholarships are available. No one is excluded and a great deal of effort goes into recruiting from the public middle schools. I am extremely proud of my daughter, the whole team, and the organization.  

Not only are they out there representing Berkeley High School throughout the state, and being excellent ambassadors for our high school and community, they are terrific examples of what can be accomplished at the high school level by women athletes!  

When something works this well it makes sense to nurture it-- not to do it harm.  

Cynthia Papermaster 

Berkeley