OS Stefanie Kozuszek reminds us what it’s really all about

Open Scullers launch for another morning of hard work on the water. (Photo by Igor Belakovskiy)

Tonight is the Rising Stars Dinner and Auction, an event to support the National Team and Olympic dreams of members of PBC’s Open Sculling Program.  Following the dinner, our Open Scullers will leave for California and the final leg of training for the regattas that will determine this year’s Olympic team.  Our shared hopes, dreams, and best wishes for success, go with them!

In this month’s look into the world of an Open Sculler, Stefanie Kozuszek reminds us that making the National Team is just the icing on the cake of being part of a hard working, close-knit team.

If you’d like to read more about Open Sculler Stefanie Kozuszek, please visit her bio page here (click).

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Happy 2012! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season!

It’s a big year, an Olympic year, and the end of a four year cycle of hard work and effort by athletes from all over the world hoping to represent their nation in London. For the PBC Open Sculling Program, it means it’s time for us to kick it into overdrive. Following this weekend’s Rising Stars Dinner and Auction, a few of us will stay in DC and focus on building our fitness, targeting through to the next cycle. Others will head out to Long Beach, California, to prepare for the National Selection Regattas in Chula Vista in April. We all hope they will be greeted with flat water, warm weather, and a training environment that will lead them to a spot on the National Team.

It’s always interesting to see the reactions of people when you tell them that you are training to one day make the National Team or better yet, to make it to the Olympics. They usually hone in on the Olympic part and ask when the next Olympics are. The next time they see you they’ll ask something like, “So, make it to the Olympics, yet?”

Deep down, you know how much more work and how many more years you will have to put in to make that dream a reality. You’ll have to get up early, train twice a day, and throw in a little work on top of it all to help pay the bills. This and more run through your head when all the person waiting on the other side probably wants is the short answer. Still, you’re thinking that there is always more you can do, always something to improve on to give you that little extra edge … “No, not yet, but I’m working on it,” you say.

Sometimes it’s scary to share your ultimate goal with others. What if you never reach that goal? Will they think of you as a failure? Or will they respect that you had enough courage to chase those dreams? In the end I’ve realized that if you are doing what you what makes you happy, then who cares what someone else might thing.

The reality is that we won’t all make it to the Olympics or even to the National Team. But as long as we’ve tried our best and enjoyed the time that we’ve put in, each of us will be able to walk away with our heads held high knowing we were true to our dreams. The friendships built on this team alone are enough to make it all worth it, but we will have also bettered ourselves along the way.

But enough of that. It’s time to get fast!

Rise to the occasion, PBC!

Social Committee Chair Virginia Bryant and Coach Reilly Dampeer and her Open Scullers want to remind everyone that the Rising Stars Dinner is less than two weeks away!

The Second Annual Rising Stars Silent Auction and Dinner is coming up on January 21. This is your opportunity to play a vital role in America’s success in international athletic competition and the strong tradition of competitive excellence at PBC. Show your support: donate services or items for the silent auction, buy tickets to the event, bid up auction items!

For more information, check your mail for your invitation or click on a link below.

• Rising Star Dinner Information
• Auction Donation Form

See you there, PBC!

-The Potomac Star on behalf of the Social Committee and Open Sculling Team

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Please save the date:  January 21, 2012

Potomac Boat Club
Rising Stars Dinner and Silent Auction
An event to benefit the club’s Olympic Hopefuls

 

An invitation to Save the Date from Open Sculling Coach Reilly Dampeer:

The Potomac Boat Club Open Sculling Program is hosting the second annual Rising Stars dinner and silent auction on January 21, 2011, to benefit our Olympic hopefuls.

I am pleased to announce that this year’s event will take place at the prestigious University Club in downtown Washington, DC.  Potomac Boat Club members will receive an invitation in the mail soon, so please keep an eye out for it and RSVP as quickly as possible, since space will be limited for this special event.

The Open Sculling Program attracts talented athletes from across the United States to Potomac Boat Club to train for elite national and international competition.  The Program has produced athletes who have earned Olympic, World, Pan American and National Championship medals.  As we approach the upcoming Olympic year, our focus is sharp and our goals are to earn the honor of representing our country internationally and bring prestige to the club and program. Like all aspiring athletes who came before us, we strive with dedication, perseverance, and the hope to embody the competitive spirit and tradition that is Potomac Boat Club.

Proceeds raised from this event will fund travel expenses and entry fees for the 2012 Olympic selection regattas to be held in Chula Vista, California.  It will also fund the purchase of the latest training technology, state-of the-art equipment and resources for our athletes.

The 2011 event was a huge success, and I look forward to achieving even higher goals at this year’s Rising Stars event. PBC community support is key to our success. There are literally hundreds of sponsors, officials, coaches, and other individuals who make the achievement of an Olympic dream possible. We invite you to share this exciting evening with us and to be part of the enduring dreams of our athletes.

For more information regarding the Open Sculling Program and the donation of items for the Silent Auction, please contact me at redampeer@yahoo.com or (206) 819-6004.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Reilly Dampeer
Head Coach, Open Sculling Program