 Anne rowing a single around her 80th birthday Anne Wangeman was raised on the water with the hum of boats and the spray of water skiers a constant presence in her life. Being raised on Mercer Island, she always loved to be on the water, and seeing the University of Washington crews out on Lake Washington was a special occasion. She remembered fondly a time when the UW crew passed right by their home— an incredibly special sight so far from their boathouse. For a short time her family lived in Madison, Wisconsin and she distinctly remembered her mother talking about the Wisconsin crew practicing on Lake Mendota. A spark of interest began to grow. Later on, an article in the Seattle Times about the growth of the women's masters rowing movement added intrigue. Additionally, a good friend rowed for Seattle Yacht Club and mentioned it was the hardest thing she had ever done. Anne was interested, but the early practice times certainly were not her cup of tea. She eventually heard about a rowing club on the east side called Sammamish Rowing Association that was hosting an open house so she decided to drop by. That was the beginning of her passion for rowing! Anne started her rowing journey in 2003 right before her 60th birthday and has now been rowing for over 20 years. When she visited the open house at SRA’s old boathouse, she wasn’t yet convinced rowing was for her. “I wasn’t sure I could do it starting at my age and with little consistent exercise during all my working years, but Gretchen Frederick, the Director at that time, told me I could, so I believed her,” Anne said. She found a good fit with the Evening Masters team and fell in love after just a few sessions. She had great coaches and a great group of rowers— all who were trying to perfect their stroke and timing together. “Rowing at night during the winter months when the water was calm and the lights and stars were out was perfection,” Anne said. Anne retired after a 40+ year career with Boeing and continued to row in the evening. Once some of the other rowers retired, they decided to row independently in the morning. She looks forward to seeing those friends weekly. When asked what made her stay with the sport, Anne had plenty to say. “Being on the water is peaceful, beautiful and calming (unless it is gale-force winds). Rowing is rhythmic and I like repetition. I count almost every stroke- it’s a great meditation. One of the articles I read 20 years ago quoted a woman rower who said that even after several years rowing a single, she was still trying to string 3 perfect strokes together. I remember that every row and it’s my challenge too. Sometimes I get several more, sometimes not,” she said. Anne also loves the local wildlife. Lake Sammamish is home to herons, bald eagles, osprey, kingfishers, red-wing blackbirds, beavers, otters, and other waterfowl. We have even had deer, bobcats, coyotes, and the rare black bear around the boathouse! As the seasons pass by, she likes to watch the transformation around the lake through the change in color from spring to summer to fall and winter.  Betsey and Anne in a double Her community is strong here too. She credits the friends she has made rowing as being encouraging, supportive, kind, loving, and lifelong. What is extra special is that her sister, Betsey, rows at SRA too. Betsey joined SRA in 2005 following a similar path as her sister in her rowing journey. The sisters find support in each other through their rowing and feel grateful to share this experience with one another. When Anne reflected on her favorite SRA rowing memories, she said, “the best thing is being able to share an activity with my sister, one that we both love. And seeing the same and new friends every week doing something we all love.” In the winter you can find the sisters rowing a double together, and in the summer they enjoy each other’s company in singles. Anne said some of her greatest rowing accomplishments is that she still sticks to it three times a week and her sister still talks to her! Love of the sport, her close friends, and being a part of an organization that helps shape youth into responsible, caring, considerate, hard working individuals and leaders keeps Anne returning to the Hod Fowler Boathouse week after week. She has found a special home here at a boathouse nestled in the wetlands on the north end of Lake Sammamish. In this boathouse, along this slough, and on the lake she has formed lifelong bonds and discovered her personal potential. She has learned the values of patience, repetition, friendships, and discipline. When she isn’t rowing, you can find her knitting, learning to play the ukulele, engaging in her book club, volunteering for the non-profit Community Loaves by baking bread and breakfast cookies, and spending plenty of time outdoors and with loved ones. At just over 80 years old, Anne has no plans of slowing down. “I plan to row until I can’t,” she stated.  Anne and Betsey have been a consistent and wonderful presence at the boathouse for many years. They were active volunteers with the annual gala for years and were familiar faces at the check-in table. Coach Simon Williams has coached them in private lessons and enjoys their commitment to the sport. Rowers like Anne and Betsey are what make our community truly so special. Their passion for rowing, their appreciation of our natural environment, and their cultivation of friendships reminds us that this sport is much more than a single workout or race. Rowing is so much more than that.
 Stevens winning the first gold medal in the brand new Jeff Young 8+ at Green Lake in 1997 In April of 1996, Tamara Stevens was browsing the newspaper when she spotted an article about Sammamish Rowing Association. She and a friend thought the sessions being offered looked fun so they signed up for the class starting in May at Idylwood Park. While her friend only lasted one session, Stevens has stayed with it ever since. “I started at 9am, tried one evening session, moved to 5am for 10 years while my kids were small, and now I’m back at mid-morning which I think is the best time to row,” Stevens said. “I rowed in singles during the pandemic in 2020. I didn’t think I would like it since I had never really learned to scull, but I loved the new lightweight Hudson single enough to get a few of my lightweight racing friends together and name the Light Speed.” Stevens is a third generation Washingtonian. She grew up in Lake Hills in Bellevue and her father was a park ranger on the Olympic Peninsula. She attended Sammamish High School (in Bellevue), went to college at Western Washington University in Bellingham, and raised her children in Redmond before moving to Seattle in 2023 after her kids went off to university. Stevens had never considered herself an athlete. She never made the cut on high school sports teams, but once she found rowing she finally felt at home. “I loved the community, the fitness, and being outside. I liked the technical aspect of the sport and being able to follow and not have to make decisions (I’m a lifelong starboard.) Once I started getting the chances to row competitive boats like Opening Day and the Head of the Charles Regatta– a competitive streak took over. I like pushing myself to row in races with the best rowers from around the world,” she said.  Stevens with her family in Chicago in 2023 Since Stevens moved to Seattle, she still comes back to row for the mid-morning team at Sammamish. “There are many Seattle crews I could choose instead,” Stevens commented. “I have a lot of history and many long-time friendships at SRA and the commute isn’t any worse than Eastside traffic. I am inspired by our older mid-morning rowers and hope to follow in their footsteps to keep active later in life. It’s really exciting to me to see people get addicted to the sport. Anyone can row as long as you want. There is no age limit. Our 70- and 80-year-old rowers inspire me every day. I feel like in our class, everyone is welcome and has a place and a chance to row how they want to, whether it’s recreational, for fitness, or for competition. It’s not an elite clique you have to earn a place in.” The friendships made at SRA are strong and lifelong. Stevens has made many incredible friends in her years at Sammamish Rowing Association and credits them for getting her through both the good times and the bad. In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Stevens was feeling down about her 50th birthday happening during lockdowns and social distancing. She expressed her sadness to her rowing friends over a zoom call only to realize they were all on her lawn when she noticed her car in the video background! While sitting on her lawn, they celebrated her birthday with cupcakes and presents. Stevens added, “I love that community feeling that I’ve had at SRA and that’s what keeps me coming back.”  Stevens racing at the Head of the Charles Regatta in 2017 in the Women's 50+ 8+ that placed 6th! Stevens has been to HOCR six times. The friends Stevens has made during her years rowing at SRA have also been amazing teammates— providing her with the opportunity to row in some of the nation’s most prestigious regattas. Stevens remembered her first experience at the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) in Boston. As one of the best known regattas in the world, the excitement in the city was palpable. “My dad took me to lunch after the race and I was still in my uniform and sweats at a white tablecloth restaurant and they didn't blink an eye. They asked if I had raced, where I came from, and how we did. That was really validating for all the hard work I had put in to get there,” Stevens shared. Experiencing that regatta and rowing among athletes from all over the world made it one of her favorite rowing memories. Stevens had returned to the HOCR many times including 2016 when she stroked SRA’s 50+ 8+ to 7th place— a huge accomplishment for a world renowned regatta. “Everyone in the boat had learned to row at SRA, there were no high school or collegiate rowers in our crew. Plus everyone except me had been rowing 5 years or less. We were so excited to pass former Olympians in our race. That was an amazing accomplishment for SRA,” Stevens said proudly.  Stevens summiting Mount Fuji with her son, Pascal, in 2023 For novice rowers, Stevens has some excellent advice. “Row with experienced rowers any time you can and learn from them,” she said. “Join the off day workouts to meet people and be pushed to improve. Try out for competitive boats to get experience and have fun!”
In 2002, Stevens left her Digital Imaging job at Wizards of the Coast to raise her two boys. Since she grew up camping and hiking, her kids now enjoy sharing those hobbies with her too. She and her son, Pascal, summited Mount Fuji together in 2023— an endeavor her rowing friends helped her train for. Stevens loves traveling around the world and takes photos of her adventures which she then scrapbooks. Her scrapbooking hobby turned into an Etsy business, Paper Hedgehog, where she has been selling journals and scrapbooks for 12 years. From her very first session at SRA back in May 1996, Stevens has found a home where she can truly thrive. With friends who push her to be her best or show up for her when she needs their support, it is not surprising that Stevens has kept coming back to the Hod Fowler boathouse for nearly 30 years. Who knew that reading the newspaper could alter your life in such amazing ways? Many rowers are familiar with the struggle of finding balance between all the things they want to do and need to do in life. For our junior rowers, balancing practice with school, homework, family time, hanging out with friends, tutoring, and other activities teaches them how to manage their time really quickly. Additionally, our adult rowers need to manage even more with work, childcare, vacations, chores, appointments, friends, family, and other hobbies as well. Sammamish Rowing Association has a strong desire to expand the sport to young adults. Statistically, most of our master rowers who have children either have children currently in high school or who have moved out as young adults. This has left very little representation for young parents on our masters teams, but one 5am rower is absolutely crushing it as a young mom.
She credits discipline and preparation as keys to balancing her early morning rows, taking care of her kids, and working her full time job. “The key is being disciplined about being prepped and ready for the next day and getting to bed early. Plus, when you have kids, they go to bed early and I’m not too far behind them! I couldn’t do it without the support of my husband, Jeff, and our family that is close by,” she added. The boathouse was basically a shack when Postlewait began rowing in 2006. Portable bathrooms were outside and rowers changed behind sheets strung up on the ceiling. Weight training was completed with concrete filled paint cans. Nevertheless, incredible coaching by her coach at the time, Courtney Moeller, and the amazing friendships she made and memories shared at the Hod Fowler Boathouse solidified rowing as a passion for Postlewait. After a gap in her rowing career, she met up with an old friend, Dennis Ferrer, and got the scoop on masters rowing. In 2019, she joined the 5am team and the rest is history!
 Since the inception of The Head of the Charles Regatta in 1965, the event has attracted hundreds of thousands of rowers to Boston and the Charles River. SRA has had the opportunity to attend this regatta for years and to compete against top crews. This year, all our competing crews qualified for entires in 2023. HOCR was back up to full capacity with top crews from across the country as well as numerous international crews. Rowers were lucky to have some of the best weather ever for this year’s races. SRA's top finish was a silver medal for the 5AM’s women’s 40+ 4+. They overcame multiple challenges to bring home SRA’s first medal since 2019. Coach Kenzie Waltar of the 5am team competed with her dad, Steve Waltar, in the Directors Challenge Parent/Child 2x category. Waltar said, "It was an honor to race the Head of the Charles with my dad. The two of us have been training together for a couple of months and to have it pay off with some fun on the Charles was such a gift! We passed a few boats, we were cheered on by many UW and SRA friends, and we competed with heart. I'm so glad we got to do something so special! SRA, thank you for making this possible. It's something we'll never forget!" In addition to current SRA rowers, we were fortunate enough to see several alumni from our junior program competing this past weekend. Brooke Caragher (U Penn), Grace Sappington (Cornell), Lucy Climer-Kennedy (Northeastern), and Jacob Zelenko (San Diego), all recent SRA Junior Program alumni, were spotted competing this year and we could not be more proud to see them continuing their rowing careers on such a renowned stage. All of our crews did an outstanding job and deserve recognition as well. Below, board member Dale Quigg has compiled our team results along with video links. Please join us in celebrating our incredible rowers, coaches, and coxswains for their amazing performances at The Head of the Charles Regatta! 2022 Head of the Charles Overview for Sammamish Rowing Association Friday, October 21, 2022 W GMV 1X Women's Grand Master/Veteran Singles [50+, 60+] Ann Creighton Results Top 25% Finish Video: Cambridge Saturday, October 22, 2022 M SM 8+ Men's Senior Master Eights [50+] C: Jessica Pare 8: Sohier Hall 7: Tyler Simpson 6: William Senenko 5: Brett Barton 4: Mike Fitzner 3: Kirby Meyer 2: Marc McGinnis 1: Patrick Eames Results: Top 50% Finish Video: Reunion Village Cambridge W SM 8+ Women's Senior Master Eights [50+] C: Lisa Caldwell 8: Ann Taylor 7: Karen Tollefson 6: Maxine Lee 5: Susannah Pryal 4: Jeana Vasey 3: Arminda Phillips 2: Sue Bailey 1: Paula Sandige Results: Top 50% Finish Video: Reunion Village Cambridge M GM 4+ Men's Grand Master Fours [60+] C: Jamie Moseley 4: Kevin Hansen 3: Scott Winter 2: Charles Turner 1: Scott Merritt Results Video: Reunion Village n/a Cambridge W SM 4+ Women's Senior Master Fours [50+] C: Madison Goertz 4: Tanya Wahl 3: Trisha Miller 2: Jennifer Martin 1: Nancy Johnston Results: Top 25% Finish Video: Reunion Village Cambridge W MSTR 4+ Women's Master Fours [40+] C: Genevieve Carrillo 4: Jennifer Teschke 3: Christen Kartaltepe 2: Rebecca Rowe 1: Yulia Poltorak Results: Silver Medal Video: Reunion Village Cambridge n/a W MSTR 4+ Women's Master Fours [40+] C: Amy Shotwell 4: Celine Suzzarini 3: Beverley Ashton 2: Summer Taylor 1: Susan Cameron Results: Top 50% Finish Video: Reunion Village Cambridge n/a Sunday, October 23, 2022 DC PC 2X Directors' Challenge Parent/Child Doubles 2: Stephen Waltar 1: Kenzie Waltar Results Video: Riverside Reunion Village Cambridge
Thank you to Sammamish Independent for this incredible feature of our organization! It's no secret that SRA provides a welcoming experience for new and returning rowers. At SRA we invite everyone to discover a passion for rowing, explore personal potential, and celebrate team success! Read the article here: https://sammamishindependent.com/2022/10/a-local-rowing-club-welcomes-anyone-willing-to-learn/?fbclid=IwAR3ini60ghXLkwHoVs82QyGfBXvbiwlK7WGVTg2NPtaHObJGXLfGF11_cZM   Nearly everyone is affected by breast cancer in some way. Maybe a co-worker, a friend, or family member has had to fight against it. Maybe you yourself have been diagnosed. Millions of people are affected by this disease and millions more are joining in the fight against it through awareness, fundraising, and general support.
Sammamish Rowing Association has had members diagnosed with this disease so this fight is a personal one. In recent years we have had incredible members who have gotten our club more involved in the local Seattle Row for the Cure event. This event is a regatta and fundraiser committed to raising awareness and funds for breast cancer screenings, research, and support. Over the years we've sent countless rowers to participate in the regatta, and we've gotten more serious about fundraising. With about a week until the regatta this September, SRA had passed the $10,000 fundraising mark, hitting out initial goal and earning a pink erg for our erg room. Mid-Morning rower, Birgit Bertram, had set up SRA's overall fundraising page and members could create their own sub-pages to solicit donations from friends, family, and colleagues. As we surpassed the $10,000 mark, the RFTC team came to us with a new goal. If we raised $20,000, we could have two pink ergs! We accepted their challenge and in the end we raised a total of $23,728! This was an incredible show of support in the fight against breast cancer and it was truly a team effort. Our top fundraiser was junior rower, Andreas Giakoumakis, who raised $4,002. Andreas began rowing in 6th grade and currently rows with the Experienced Junior Boys Team. He loves his friends and coaches who make SRA an amazing place to be. When asked why he decided to fundraise for RFTC, Andreas said, "My mom, who is a two-time breast cancer survivor, mainly inspired me to raise money for RFTC, and at first I didn’t think I would raise more than 500 dollars, but everyone exceeded my expectations. I think it is important to raise money for breast cancer research so it can be detected early, and less people and families can be affected." "I love how my mom is very understanding and kind," he added. We have to admit, we appreciate how kind and understanding Andreas is and our staff members are so proud of his hard work and dedication to the cause. To everyone who helped us reach this milestone, and for all those committed to the cause of defeating breast cancer- thank you for your incredible support this year. Get ready to break more records in 2023!  This month, SRA added a familiar face to our full-time staff. Many rowers from our junior and masters teams will remember learning the basics of rowing with Sydney Colburn. Sydney spent many summers coaching our middle school programs, Row for a Day classes, and Learn to Row sessions. Sydney has a wealth of knowledge for building a strong rowing foundation for rowers and has supported several SRA teams.
Sydney joined SRA in the spring of 2014 looking for a new activity outside of soccer and karate. After checking out SRA because a friend rowed, Sydney instantly fell in love with the sport, eventually graduating from the junior rowing program. “My favorite memory at SRA is my first year on the experienced high school team. I was in the 3V (our lowest boat at the time), but we were completely undefeated over the course of the season. It was such a fun boat and I still think about those races and how much fun they were.” Sydney recently graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Linguistics and History, with a minor in American Sign Language. During their time at UC San Diego, Sydney also rowed for four years with the Women's Rowing team. When asked what they love about the sport and what they’re looking forward to with SRA, Sydney said, "I love everything about rowing. I love how much effort you have to put into the sport. I love how unique and specialized it is. I love being out on the water early in the morning when everything is calm and you can hear the birds. I love the sounds of the slides and the oarlocks and the blade slipping out of the water. I love how close a group of people gets when preparing to race together, and how rowing requires the entire boat to work as one – it's the ultimate team sport. Now, as a coach, I love teaching the sport and watching people fall in love with rowing just like I did." We couldn’t agree more! Sydney joins as our Learn to Row Coordinator and as an assistant coach for our junior girls and masters teams. Having worked with many first-time rowers, they offered some advice. "My best piece of advice for a new rower would be to have patience – in themselves, their teammates, and their coaches. Rowing is a very difficult sport and it takes a long time to get good at it, so don't expect to figure everything out right away." Join us in welcoming Sydney back to our community! We look forward to many wonderful rowing sessions on the lake and the joy of rowers falling in love with the sport thanks to Sydney’s guidance.
The Henley Royal Regatta dates back almost 200 years, and they firmly hold to tradition. High on the list of British social events, formal attire is required to enter the Stewards Enclosure viewing area. Racing is a single elimination match on a course slightly longer than 2 kilometers.
Woodman’s boat was sidelined from Olympic competition when the U.S. and other countries boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Tom notes that his crew is often remembered for what they weren't able to do. However, his team defines their legacy with their ample accomplishments. Evidence of their success is visible at the National Team Training Center in Princeton; CRI in Boston; Newport Aquatic Center in California; Sammamish Rowing Association; and even facilities in New Zealand and Australia. Tom shares the reunion was a success and a time to celebrate. After the Henley, a couple of Woodman's boat mates traveled to Lucerne, Switzerland where they also raced in 1980. The Rotsee course there is the best rowing course in the world, and they were able to watch World Rowing Cup III on a beautiful summer weekend before heading their separate ways. When asked what problems the Greater Seattle area faces, what comes to mind? For some, the issue of homelessness will pop up. Knowing that many of our fellow citizens are without housing is distressing, and one SRA member wanted to do something about it. Aimee Woolwine of the Masters Mid-Morning Team decided to make a positive change by giving back to the community. After running across Sound Foundations NW on social media, Aimee began volunteering at The Hope Factory, their building facility in SODO. The goal of Sound Foundations NW is to end homelessness in Seattle and share what they learn to communities with the same intent. "Getting folks out of unsafe living conditions and into a safe place of their own changes their lives. Every person is worthy of that feeling of peace and safety. These homes and the villages they are placed in are a highly effective conduit to a healthier life for so many people," says Woolwine. Working with other SFNW volunteers on a weekly basis, she saw volunteering as a great experience to share with her teammates.
A huge congratulations and thank you to Aimee and the Mid-Morning team for an amazing feat and doing great work for our local communities. Interested in getting involved? Reach out to SRA staff to connect with Aimee or click the link below to see how you can improve people's lives by providing homes!
By Coach Liza Dickson This is a companion article to the video. If you haven't watched the video, check it out below: A common question I get regarding technique revolves around layback - how much should a rower have? I think my rowers want a simple answer to this, but as usual with me, there isn’t a simple answer. For this discussion, I’m going to explain a bit about how I coach and my style. Every coach has their own style - there is room for all of them, your coach has one and you should listen to it. But never be afraid to ask them “why?” they coach anything the way that they do.
The style of rowing that I coach is based upon the optimal utilization of both a rowers body and the equipment. Basically, trying to use those two things the way they were intended on being used and in tandem. Focusing on these two things prevents injury and promotes optimal boat speed. Each rower is different, so my style revolves around trying to find the optimum use of their body. That’s why if you watch my crews row down the Montlake Cut on Opening Day, they are not perfectly matched with the bodies. Unfortunately, in Junior Rowing I have not had the luxury of a matched set of 8 rowers that were all 6’5! Instead of making them all look the same (when their bodies seldom are the same), I work on helping each athlete attain their most effective and efficient stroke based on the biomechanics of their body first and foremost. That is step 1. Oversimplifying an entire year of coaching, the next step is looking at oars: catch angles, and stroke lengths making sure they are matched (and yes, sometimes that means making the short guy row with extra layback - but only if he is capable of it physically). None of the above works if you are not set up properly in relation to the equipment, but here again we border on the different rowing styles, so I’m going to leave it to your coaches to set you up the way they want you in the boat. Now that you have some understanding on my approach, on to that pesky layback question. Of course all rowers want to be as long as possible, but there are limitations with their body (individual anatomy) and the setup of the equipment (physics). For each athlete to find the layback that is appropriate to them, I have my rowers row feet out. It’s important to make sure you are on the seat properly on the front of the ischial tuberosities (bottom of the pelvis, aka sit bones). Once feet are out, I am asking our athletes to find the layback that THEIR core can support with the feet out of the shoes. So on the drive, athletes are pressing into the feet and as the blade comes out of the water, the pressure on the bottom of the feet must cease. Rowers are in the layback position and without their feet in the shoe, they can not rely on the top of the shoe to hold them in the layback position. Rowers MUST rely on the strength of their core. It takes some strokes each day with feet out to find that perfect layback where the rower is relying on their core strength to end the drive and make the turn to the recovery learning NOT to rely on the tops of their feet. When rowers pull excessively on the top of the shoes in the layback position they are not in control of their body - the body is able to FALL to the bow. That is not optimal for boat speed. Additionally, pulling excessively on the top of the shoes means you don’t have to use your core. If you go back further than the strength of your core will allow, you are putting your back at risk. A few things go into this core strength and it goes beyond doing a core workout every day. (though you still do need to do that work!) The next thing is physical development. For instance, a teen boy is still growing rapidly and while we can strengthen the core muscles, the connections through ligaments and tendons remain loose within the whole body. Therefore, they are likely not going to be capable of a longer layback solely because they are still growing. Often my junior boats do not have very much layback for this reason. As that rower enters his early 20’s his core will be capable of a longer layback. Take a look at a college crew and you’ll see that. The final thing is length of time rowing. So many times you hear your coaches say things like : “ you just need to take more rowing strokes to be good at this!” This is true for developing your core strength - the longer you row, the stronger those muscles get from rowing and the more efficient you are, therefore making you capable of having some longer layback. As my sculling coach always said, “The best core workout for rowing is using your core while rowing!” I’ll pick up on that topic next time. Feel free to reach out with any questions at [email protected]. I spent one year intensively studying anatomy, physiology and biomechanics in massage therapy school. That knowledge changed how I coached. |
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Sammamish Rowing Association
5022 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE Redmond, WA 98052 [email protected] 425-653-2583 |
Mailing Address:
Sammamish Rowing Association P.O. Box 3309 Redmond, WA 98073 |
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