The moment

You think our Margot Shumway knew she had won the Women’s 1x event at the Pan Am Games in Mexico earlier this month when this photo was taken?  Eduardo Verdugo (AP) captured the moment just after she crossed the finish line.  We think she probably did.

Most of us have taken millions of strokes dreaming of the moment we prove we’re among the best in the world.  A few of us, like Margot, have lived it and will live it, again.  With the Olympic year upon us, we’re looking forward to more great things from Margot and the rest of Potomac Boat Club’s Open Scullers. Let’s make sure we give them our full support.

To donate to help our National Team members and hopefuls get closer to realizing their Olympic dreams, please click HERE.

PBC’s Shumway finds gold in Mexico

PBC's Margot Shumway at this year's Pan Am Games (Photo courtesy of Margaux Jackson)

Potomac Boat Club’s Margot Shumway won gold today in the Women’s Single event at the XVI Pan American Games 2011.

Margot’s win earned the U.S. one of the two gold and one bronze medals won by our National Team on this second day of finals in Ciudad Guzman.

Click here to read the Rowing News article about Margot’s win and here to read the ESPN article about the win and for more updates from Mexico.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MARGOT AND COACHES MATT MADIGAN AND REILLY DAMPEER!  We’re so proud of you!

Red turns pink in October at PBC!

October in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Would you like to support a fine team race for a great cause?  Well, get out that wallet and read the message below from Kathy Hughes, PBC Team Captain, Pull for a Cure.

For more information about Pull for a Cure, please click here.

Throughout the year, PBC also provides a home base for WeCanRow DC, a volunteer-directed, not-for-profit, educational and support organization offering breast cancer survivors an introduction to the sport of sweep rowing, and continuing recreational and competitive rowing opportunities.

To read more about WeCanRow DC, please click here.

Good luck at the HOCR, Ladies! – PS

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Dear Friends:

We’re asking you to please sponsor our Women’s Quad as we race the Directors Challenge event at the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR), on Sunday, October 23rd.

The HOCR partners with Pull for a Cure, an organization that benefits breast cancer research through the American Cancer Society and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.  We’re racing to raise money for this important cause, but we need your help!

Choose from the following ways to pledge:

1. THE SURE SHOT:  Our average raw time completing the course is 20:37.  (Reminder, we are 62 years young, and one year, it was snowing when we finished the race!) We would like a base pledge of $20.37 from everyone, if you can do it!

2. THE FREE-FORM:   Pledge as much or as little as you would like. You decide the terms; for example, challenge us to beat our time from previous years!  [No, you cannot say that they owe you money after the race.]

To make your pledge, simply go to the Potomac Boat Club Team Pull for a Cure website, Kathy Hughes, Team Captain, at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=23120214&pg=personal&fr_id=34541.

Thank you, one and all!

Kathy Hughes, Nancy Petrisko, Camilla Durfee, and Gail Edie

Kevin Baum … from Red to Blue

We wish Kevin the best of luck on his quest to earn a seat in the Blue Boat. Don’t forget to write.

To read Kevin’s bio, click here.  -PS

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Time is impervious to the effect specific moments have on people. We ascribe extraordinary value to events, which can re-define us as people, yet are offered no chance to sit by and observe that moment. The clock keeps ticking and lives need living, regardless of the internal psychological transformation that has taken place.

Such is rowing. Win or lose, succeed or fail, we still wake up the next day and have to get back at it again. Ultimately, rowing careers are judged by wins and losses and medals won, but the value of rowing goes much deeper. The life of an oarsman revolves around training. It consumes 99.9% of our time, and it is from this experience that we derive worth from the sport. Winning races would mean nothing without the thousands of hours of training that brings us there. There is a direct correlation between effort exerted in achieving a goal and how consequential achieving that goal is.

Coming off a four month ankle injury last fall, the prospect of re-gaining my previous fitness was daunting. Recognizing success lay in improving on that previous level was overwhelming. The only way to survive experiences like this (especially the first few months of only erging), was to set a tangible, achievable goal: Pan American Game Trials in August. I had seven months to get myself back into shape and in a position to race for a spot on team USA. I knew barring any major changes, I would be racing in the double with Taylor Frank. Having raced with him many times before, I felt very comfortable with this lineup and was excited to see how fast we could make it go in seven months.

By the end of the summer, we were starting to feel very confident in our speed. Rowing at the US Elite Nationals, we placed third, sprinting through a double from the US Training Center with far superior erg scores, to claim the bronze. One more month of training and we would be ready.

Unlike many of the races I have participated in at PBC, I felt a strange sense of calm for this one. Psychologically and physically, I was in a better position for success than any previous PBC race. I had remained largely sickness and injury free during the seven months. Taylor and I had logged many hours in the double and had total confidence in our rhythm. We were ready.

Our heat went as well as could be expected, with our double placing first and earning an automatic spot in the final. It was a learning experience however, as our long, effective 36, became a short, less effective 36 in the second thousand after the wind shifted from a direct tail to a direct head. However, we pulled out the win in an excruciating last 500. We earned ourselves a day of rest which we sorely (no pun intended) needed. The rep the next day showed us that our speed was right in the mix, with the top two crews finishing 1 second and 0.5 seconds ahead of the crew we had beaten the day before.

Success requires skill, hard work and luck. You must put yourself in a position to succeed, but sometimes the best preparation doesn’t always lead to the desired or expected result. Ask Mahe Drysdale in 2008. Ultimately, we did not take advantage of the good position in which we had placed ourselves. After a solid start and a decent first 500, the wheels came off. The rhythm we had found in practice and in the heat was not there, and we struggled to get it back. Maybe it was the hour and a half rain delay. Maybe it was the nerves generated by our best chance to win a regatta. Whatever it was, we did not execute. Hats off to the winning crews. By the last 500, we were totally out of the race, and were forced to row through the referee wake for 500 meters tripling the margin.

Devastation. Frustration. Embarrassment. Myriad emotions swirled through my frazzled brain after the race. It wasn’t just that we lost. The other crews had trained just as hard and long as we had. It was underperforming so epically. It would have been tough to be mad if had we raced as to our potential. Chances are, if we had rowed our greatest race, we would have still lost. But we did not give ourselves the opportunity to find out. We let ourselves, our coaches, and our training down. In rowing, you only get one shot. As much as I desired to just sit on the water and never come back to shore, the world had not stopped. The clock continued to tick, and we continued to breathe.

The toughest part was feeling like we had let Ri down. What she had done with two undersized, under-gifted athletes in such a short time was remarkable, and I cannot say enough how incredible a coach she has been. Even though we did not achieve our goal, I am proud of the effort we made. Those seven months of training were the real experience, and one that I will carry with me the rest of my life, even though I will not be racing in Mexico. The hours on the water in the dark and cold. The training in Augusta. Proving to myself that I could overcome my injury and get back to my previous level. Proving to ourselves that we could race and compete with the big boys, regardless of our ergs or our experience. These are the lessons that have changed me and I will carry with me.

The clock kept ticking. After taking some time to put it all in perspective, I had life choices to make. Ultimately, for a variety of reasons, I accepted a place I had been offered to study for a Master’s degree at Oxford University. I will continue to row there, and attempt to make the Blue Boat for the 158th Boat Race.

I will be sure to keep Potomac Star updated as to my progress while I am on the other side of the pond, and am thankful for all the support I have received from everyone at Potomac over the past few years.