As early as 1903, women students at the University of Washington were rowing in the “same boats” and “under the same conditions” as the men, according to the university’s 1904 yearbook. With Hiram Conibear as head rowing coach from 1907 to 1917, the women’s program grew right alongside the men's, while still facing opposition to women competing in the strenuous sport from parts of the UW administration. Unfortunately, after Conibear’s unexpected death in 1917 and the start of World War I, the women’s crew program was effectively dismantled until the late 1960s. However, the program quickly grew in the early 1970s, and within a few years was winning national championships.

With no women’s crew team at UW in 1929, the context of this photo is unknown.

Description in handwritten inventory: U of W Crew --Girls 1-26-29
Webster & Stevens number: 133016