Supporters help PBC’s Rising Stars get closer to National Team reality

Morgan Constantine Wimberley with a poster of herself that appeared all over DC as part of NBC News' "We are Washington" campaign. (Photo by Mike Malone)

Contributed by Maria Bokulich, member, Open Sculling Program

The cherry blossoms have bloomed, the river is rowable and the first annual Rising Stars Banquet, a fundraiser for the PBC Open Sculling Program, has come and gone with great success.

The evening began with the Board room packed full of generous supporters bidding on a variety of silent auction items from a fly fishing trip in Montana to an original painting of the Key Bridge viewed through a PBC boat bay by former Open Sculler Bill Greer.

With the guys in jackets and ties and the gals in dresses and heels, the  auction was followed by a delicious dinner prepared by PBC senior member Chef Bernard Henry.  We named Chef Bernard an honorary member of the Open Sculling Team for his very generous contribution to the event!  During dessert, each athlete spoke briefly about the passion we all share to be the best in this sport and the dream we live each day to make the U.S. National Team.  All of your contributions help us get closer to turning this dream into a reality.

Katie Stainken competes in the 2011 National Selection Regatta for a spot on the team that will represent the U.S. at the World Championship in Bled Slovania.

Thank you to all who volunteered their time and energy to make this event possible.  With the support of PBC and the Washington, DC rowing community, the Open Scullers were able to raise $11,000 from the event.  These funds will go directly to our athletes for help with travel expenses to races, training trips and equipment needs.

In fact, we just returned from our first race of the season, the 2011 National Selection Regatta 1 (NSR 1), which took place from April 21– 23, in Princeton, New Jersey.   Each of the Open Scullers competed in a single through a time trial, heats and a final, all to earn the right to compete at the 2011 World Championships in Bled, Slovenia.

Next, we’ll let you know how the NSR 1 went!

Once again, thanks to everyone for making our first Rising Stars Banquet such a big success!

Don Spero: From Tokyo to the Thames

Don Spero gives up his shirt after losing to Vyacheslav Ivanov at the European Championships in Amsterdam in 1964. Two months later, Spero would beat Ivanov during heats in a historic upset at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

You are cordially invited to hear PBC senior member, Olympian and former World Single Sculls champion, Don Spero, talk about his experiences rowing at the elite level when the PBC Social Committee hosts From Toyko to the Thames: A Conversation with Olympian Don Spero, May 4th at 6:30 pm, at the University Club, located at 1135 16^th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

One of America’s most celebrated rowing athletes, long-time PBC senior member Don Spero has built a rowing career that is now legendary.  Spero won the World Rowing Single Sculls Championship in 1966 in Bled, Yugoslavia. Later that year, he again took the gold medal at the National Championships at St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. In 1965, Spero won the Henley Regatta Diamond Sculls Championship in England and the Duisberg International Regatta Single Sculls Gold Medal in Germany.  Spero was the U.S. National Champion in the Single Sculls in 1963, 1964, and 1966; Double Sculls Champion in 1963; and Quadruple Sculls Champion in 1965.

“From Tokyo to the Thames” will be the first in a speaker series that the Social Committee plans to hold regularly for PBC members and others interested in the sport of rowing.

The event is free for all members and guests, and includes a reception.  To attend, please RSVP to Sean Durkin at sdurkin@columbiagroup.com

Until then, enjoy watching this video of Don rowing at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and listening to the very interesting commentary:

Federal shutdown? Board says GW Invitational must go on!

ATTENTION PBC:

In the event of a federal shutdown at midnight tonight, Thompsons Boat Center (run by the National Park Service) will be closed to the many collegiate crews in town this weekend, for the 2011 George Washington University Invitational Regatta (GW Invitational).

The GW Invitational is the largest collegiate regatta on the Potomac and includes crews from Georgetown University, George Washington University, The Naval Academy, Cornell, Holy Cross, St. Joe’s, Columbia University, Gonzaga College and others.  PBC has stepped up to offer assistance to ensure the GW Invitational will go on for the many crews who have prepared to race tomorrow … even if Thompsons is closed.

If Thompsons does close, we plan to allow access through the Club to our docks to crews participating in the regatta. This means, if a shutdown happens, the notice below from the Board will become effective, and you should be prepared to find many boat trailers parked at the end of Water Street tomorrow and a lot of traffic on the docks.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and appreciate your support of rowing on the Potomac.

Ed Ryan, Secretary

*ATTENTION*

The GW Invitational will be launching boats from the PBC dock on

Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 9am to 5pm

and

Sunday, April 10, 2001 from 8am to Noon

You are welcome to launch and row, but please yield to boats launching to race.

Thank you for your cooperation.

PBC Board of Governors