Simon Fraser University coxswain Iulia Bodnariuc is among the six finalists for FISA’s Fillippi Spirit Award, given annually to university rowers who have demonstrated core values of rowing in their academic and sporting life. As head coxswain, Bodnariuc is responsible for training new coxswains and coaching the novice crews. She also volunteers for Science Al!ve, a British Columbia-based nonprofit that focuses on exposing youth to science, technology, and engineering. This year’s Fillippi Spirit Award saw a record 47 nominations from 20 different countries. The winner receives a new Fillippi eight for their rowing program.
High Expectations for High Performance Committee
Four high-profile leaders in the rowing world joined USRowing’s High Performance Committee in February, rounding out a team of six that looks to boost the United States’ results in international competition.
Harvard men’s heavyweight coach Charley Butt, former University of Washington coach and program director Bob Ernst, current Washington women’s coach Yaz Farooq, and New York Athletic Club rowing chairman Rob Milam join athletes Megan Kalmoe and Dan Walsh, whose terms wrap up later this year. Milam will serve as chair of the committee.
According to a press release, the board of directors chose to reform the committee with eyes toward 2020 and beyond after a high-performance task force reviewed results from the Rio Olympic Games. The move, it should be noted, came following the resignation of four board members. Not long after, longtime CEO Glenn Merry announced he would be stepping down effective April 15.
The new voices come at a time when the U.S. men look to reclaim spaces on the medal stand and the U.S. women hope to extend their unprecedented string of success. Additionally, the vote at FISA Congress in February to replace the lightweight men’s four with a women’s four gives the new committee more fodder for conversation in the months and years ahead.
“This group is qualified and, without a doubt, will lead us with insight and experience through the next quadrennial,” said Matt Imes, USRowing’s director of high performance.
Now in place, the committee is tasked specifically with helping “in the development and implementation of all plans and programs for identifying and selecting elite athletes to represent the United States in international competition.” Each new member has a resume befitting the task at hand.
Butt and Ernst each have coached in four separate Olympics, with Butt coaching Michelle Guerette to silver in the single in 2008 and Ernst guiding the U.S. women’s eight to gold in 1984. Farooq is a two-time Olympic coxswain and won four medals at world championships in the eight, including gold in 1995. Milam competed on two U.S. national teams in 2003 and 2011 and has managed rowing at NYAC since 2013.
USRowing’s new committee takes the reins as the United States prepares to host the world championships for the first time since 1994 in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida.
March Race Reports
2017 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints
Indoor rowers descended upon Boston University’s Agganis Arena Feb. 12, for the 2017 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships. Notable races included the men’s junior lightweight event, where first through third place had less than two seconds between them. Bethesda Chevy Chase High Schools’ Henry Bellew bested Mile High Rowing Club’s Gregory Cain and Andrew Hickey of PRNA/Mercer with a 6:21. In the men’s open event, Polish oarsman Bartosz Zablocki took home the hammer with a time of 5:45.8, beating out Belorussian Pavel Shurmei, who pulled a 5:47.8. Shurmei need not beat himself up too much, though, as he left Boston as the new record holder in the men’s 40-49 heavyweight division. Third place went to Cuban sculler Angel Fournier-Rodriguez, who pulled an impressive 5:49. The open women’s race also provided quite a spectacle. The hammer was awarded to Ukrainian erg phenom Olena Buryak, who pulled a blistering 6:33. Second and third place in the event went to Georgie Rowe of Chocolate Box Training and José van Veen of KNRB. The duo duked it out in the final meters of the event, finishing with a 6:40.4 and 6:41.7 respectively. In the lightweight ranks, the men’s and women’s hammers went to Sam Melvin with a 6:14.6 and Erin Roberts of Riverside Boat Club, who pulled a 6:58.1. In the junior events, Y Quad Cities U.S. junior national team athlete Caroline Sharis finished with a 7:15.2 to pick up a hammer. In the junior men’s event, first place went to Joseph Johnson of Gonzaga High School, who earned his hardware with a sturdy 6:00.4. For the open women’s junior event, Connecticut Boat Club’s Kaitlyn Kynast finished comfortably in first, pulling a 6:50.2, with second and third place finishing five and eight seconds behind her. The day’s oldest competitors, Dean Smith, 91, of Rocky Mountain Boat Club, and Dottie Stewart, 95, both pulled impressive pieces, finishing their 2ks with a 9:23.5 and 14:55.3. Both competitors left with 2017 C.R.A.S.H.-B hammers. Smith, an 800-meter runner in college, said it wasn’t a PR and, overall, he was not very pleased with the piece. This was his 10th C.R.A.S.H.-B and, unsurprisingly, his 10th hammer. “I go up and down,” Smith said. “I could have done a lot better. You get tired though, you know?”
2017 Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships
Rio Olympians Susanne Grainger and Lisa Roman finished first and second in the senior women’s event at the 2017 Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships Feb. 5 in Mississauga, Ontario. Racing under the National Training Center banner, Grainger turned in 6:52.8, with her Canadian Olympic women’s eight boatmate trailing by just over five seconds in 6:57.9. Both were members of the 2014 worlds silver medal eight. Third place went to Sarah Rothwell of Peterborough Rowing Club, who pulled a 6:59.3. On the senior men’s side, unaffiliated athlete Jordan Weide paced the field with a 6:05.7. The University of Western Ontario’s Andre Pelletier finished second in 6:09.5, with third place going to Mick Malowany, who covered the 2,000-meter distance in 6:10.2. In the women’s junior A category, Grace VandenBroek of Peterborough Rowing Club earned top honors on the strength of a 7:06.5. Don Rowing Club athletes nabbed the next two spots, with Amanda Caromicoli and Alexandra Wright turning in respective times of 7:09.2 and 7:10.7. In junior A boys action, Steven Rosts of Eden High School narrowly edged Ridley College’s Matthew Schultz for the victory. Rosts covered the 2k in 6:17.2, an average split of 1:34.3, with Schultz a mere 0.3 seconds back. Third place went to Marcus Doyle of Don Rowing Club, who ended up with a time of 6:22.7.
Going the Distance
The dramatic removal of the lightweight men’s four from the Olympic program wasn’t the only consequential decision to come out of February’s FISA Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo. Delegates from the various national governing bodies also voted to extend the distance for para-rowing at worlds and Paralympic Games from 1,000 to 2,000 meters. And for the first time, female coxswains will be able to cox international male crews and vice versa, with the minimum coxswain weight now 55 kilograms for both sexes. The minimum weight for women’s boats was previously 50 kilograms.
A New Test
Misery, as they say, loves company. Beginning this year, the U.S. Marine Corps will incorporate a 5k erg test into their annual fitness evaluations. The erg option is being offered as an alternative measure for older service members who, due to injuries, may not be able complete the traditional 3-mile run. According to published standards, men between 46 and 50 will have to pull a minimum of 25:40, while women in that same category are required to turn in at least a 28:30. Along with the run or row, the annual physical evaluation includes pull-ups, crunches, and a combat fitness test.
Robert Spenger, 1924-2017
A quick query of indoor rowing world records on the Concept2 website shows just how prolific Robert Spenger was on the machine: 37 records in the 80-89 and 90-99 age categories, including a new 6k mark of 28:58.8 set last year. But Spenger, who passed away in January at 92, had achievements that went far beyond the erg. A former University of California, Berkeley varsity oarsman, Spenger was an avid climber and hiker, the latter an activity he pursued after retiring from a longtime faculty position at California State University in Fullerton.
Dad Vail Regatta to hold Inaugural Alumni Challenge
Philadelphia, PA – The Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee is pleased to announce the introduction of the Alumni Challenge as part of the 79th annual Dad Vail Regatta presented by the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, which will be held on Friday May 12 and Saturday May 13.
The 500-meter competition for eight oared shells will take place on Saturday May 13 between the morning and afternoon session. The races will feature men and women’s divisions with Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals presented to the top three finishers in their respective categories.
“Rowing is a lifetime sport,” said Jim Hanna, President of the Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee. “We are delighted to provide alumni rowers an opportunity to compete in a fun yet competitive environment in America’s largest collegiate regatta.”
To register or for more information regarding an innovative way to re-connect with old teammates along with a chance to re-live past glory, contact Kirsten Morasco at kirstenmorasco@klmconsult.com.
