Connor's Erg Challenge

press release:  Top rowers from the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, MIT, Princeton and Syracuse universities will face off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13 at the Porter Boathouse, 680 Babcock Dr., in the fourth annual Connor’s ERG Challenge, officials confirmed today. The virtual, 100-kilometer rowing competition raises funds to fight childhood brain cancer.

Connor Dawes lost a 16-month battle against brain cancer on April 20, 2013, at just 18 years old. In response, his family created The Robert Connor Dawes (RCD) Foundation to help make brain tumors a thing of the past, said Liz Dawes, Connor’s mother and the organization’s executive director. The foundation works to accomplish this goal by supporting the science and – until a cure is found – the patients, in the areas of research, care and development.

Connor’s ERG Challenge is a literal show of strength against childhood brain cancer that is presented by the RCD Foundation and hosted by each participating university’s rowing team. The teams row concurrently and can monitor each other’s progress to the 100K mark via linkups on large television screens in each boathouse. “This year’s event is also supported by two fantastic major sponsors – Northwestern Mutual and Jacobus Energy,” Dawes said.

UW-Madison and Stanford rowers have participated since the event’s inception because following a stellar high school rowing career in Australia, Connor was determined to attend and row for one of these two schools. “Connor’s ERG Challenge serves as a way to honor Connor’s passion for rowing while raising needed funds for brain cancer research,” said Dawes, a UW–Madison alumna, class of 1985. This year for the first time Syracuse, Princeton and MIT will also be competing to take home the Connor Cup.

The event has raised almost $50,000 during its first three challenges; this year’s goal is to raise an additional $35,000 for brain cancer research, Dawes said. Fifty percent of the funds raised at each school will benefit the respective universities’ neuroscience departments, she said. The remaining 50 percent will benefit the RCD Foundation and its U.S. brain cancer research projects. “We’re encouraging friends and alumni from each university to support their team and support brain cancer research by making an donation,” Dawes said. “Every dollar makes a difference in this fight.”

“Support from events like Connor’s Erg Challenge helps to spur innovative research, because that kind of flexible funding provides brain tumor scientists with the ability to test new hypotheses and go in new scientific directions,” said Michelle Monje, a preeminent pediatric brain cancer researcher at Stanford.

The Wisconsin rowing team is undefeated in the previous three competitions. Adding Syracuse, Princeton and MIT rowers to the mix ups the ante and intensifies the competition between universities, Dawes said. “It will be a race to the finish line for the Connor Cup on February 13.”

More information on the event, the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation and donor opportunities can be found at rcdfoundation.org.