On March 7, 2021 BCR’s very own Katie Walker logged in from her computer in Colorado and won C.R.A.S.H.-B’s Women’s Masters A division. The virtual format of the race allowed Katie to compete from Boulder in a year when she otherwise would not have travelled to Boston. While training with BCR and following Coach Vee’s training plan, Katie had been pulling PR’s, and thought she could be a contender in the indoor championships. Her raw race time of 7:18.0 proved that conviction correct. 

C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints is the International World Indoor Rowing Championships held in Boston, MA.

On the day of the race, Katie’s husband took their kids, a 4-year-old and a 7-month-old, outside to play as Katie got ready to race from her home erging setup. Similarly to the in-person event, competitors could see each other and their relative locations on the screen. Unlike previous years, though, there was no high-energy environment or adrenaline created by sitting directly next to your competitors. To counteract this, Katie relied on playing music through speakers instead of wearing headphones. 

Katie felt good through the first 1,500 meters and held off the rower behind her. In the last 500 meters, she took the race 100 meters at a time to get to the finish line. While the organizing committee provided a 10 second handicap to those competing above 5,400 feet to account for the impacts of altitude, Katie won outright. 

In the last year, Katie has transitioned to working from home and gave birth to her daughter. She says BCR’s virtual practices provided the normalcy of seeing teammates and training together, even if in a virtual environment. On both BCR practice days and non-practice days, Katie ergs in the morning before her kids wake up. She continued to erg through pregnancy, erging the day before giving birth, and returned to the erg only 6 days later. Shortly before the race, Katie hit the 2 million meter mark since giving birth (yes, you read that correctly!). 

Success at C.R.A.S.H.-B’s is no stranger to Katie’s family. When Katie and her sister began rowing in high school, their mother took up erging and placed 2nd in C.R.A.S.H.-B’s. Katie, who pulled a 7:18 PR (raw time without the altitude handicap), has her eyes set on her mother’s 7:10 time from 2009. And who knows, Katie’s son has already medaled at one indoor rowing race, so maybe he’ll follow in his mother and grandmother’s footsteps! 

Denver Indoor Rowing Championships, the first day of Katie’s second trimester

Katie has been rowing with BCR for two years since moving to Boulder from Charlottesville, VA. She rowed for the University of Virginia, Xavier Crew, and Tempe Junior Crew.

2020 marks BCR’s 20th anniversary! During this time, we take a moment to reflect on BCR’s founding in 2000.

With a vision to start a community rowing program offering an opportunity for anyone and everyone to learn to row, Cymber Quinn helped lead the movement to start BCR in April 2000. Planning meetings began among the University of Colorado coaches and college students. The CU team blanketed Boulder with flyers, posted notices in gyms, and published an article in the local paper to promote the creation of Boulder’s new rowing club. Cymber remembers the phone ringing off the hook with Boulderites eager to put their name and number on the list of new rowers.

BCR’s first meeting for new members coincided with the night of the Colorado Crew banquet, but when the meeting started, not a single person showed up. After a quick search around the building, Cymber found 70 people waiting at the wrong door. After the brief mix-up (and perhaps moment of panic on part of the planning committee), the meeting was a great success. The roughly 15 experienced rowers in the room were immediately assigned positions on the board and put to work. For another two weeks, future rowers continued to call in daily, and BCR soon had another 80 members ready to kick-off its first summer. 

The early members, including Sue Coffey, Cinda Graubard, Hannah Gosnell, David Larsen, Darla Lamper, Mark Brunner, Tom Ryerson, Sarah Walls, Leslie Livingston, John Wood, Marcy Wood, Soren Moglesvang, and John Gontkof, worked tirelessly to create the smooth-running, inclusive organization we know today. Among the early members, Christopher (Tuffer) Dow was known as the safest, and most creative, trailer driver. He offered emergency launch support many times, and BCR would not exist without him. Richard Lingard, a former Leander member, provided essential insights to help BCR get off the ground in those early years.

BCR’s fearless leader, Cymber Quinn, in 2000 and 2020

In its first summer, BCR trained 150 novices. As anyone who has trained even one novice knows, that is no small feat. The CU students who stayed over the summer became coaches and coxswains, creating a fun, new experience for the college students who, until this point, had never been allowed to tell adults what to do. As college students, these new coaches and coxswains successfully taught the eclectic group of novices how to row together as Boulder’s first rowing team.

Like any new club, BCR faced the challenge of acquiring not only rowers, coxswains, and coaches, but also boats. The club was fortunate enough to receive several generous equipment donations in its first year. Most memorably, BCR rowers climbed into two rickety Schoenbrod 8+s.  Remembering to bring tools in these boats was particularly important, as mid-practice stops to tighten the equipment occurred at least once a day.

BCR’s first gear from 2000

Cymber reflects that the early members of BCR gave an enormous amount of time and effort to build a sport that Boulder had not seen before. Rarely does an organization come together so easily, but in its early days, BCR truly felt like one big, happy crew of people working together towards a common goal. To this day, BCR continues to serve the needs of the community in the same manner as its early days: as one big family.

BCR was organized such that board members and volunteers each took on a specific, dedicated job, so that all responsibilities were distributed and shared among members. In this way, the club is truly Boulder’s team, as its many members volunteer to run the club and plan for its future based on the needs of the community as a whole, and not any one individual.

Cymber’s final reflection on BCR captures well a feeling shared by many, many rowers, coxswains, and coaches who have had the pleasure to share in its vibrant community:

“I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Welcome to the first post of our new “In the Spotlight” series! We are excited to highlight the rowing prowess and leadership of our current president, Bill Meyer. 

Bill joined BCR in September 2018 and was elected president in November 2019. Since he started his term in January 2020, Bill has shown undeniable leadership skill in helping the club navigate the unprecedented changes seen by so many organizations in the first half of 2020.

Though this is his first time on the BCR board, Bill has unsurprisingly donated his time on other volunteer boards before, including serving on the board of a youth soccer organization in Massachusetts for about seven years.

Bill Meyer, BCR’s current president.

Bill’s rowing career began in 1978 at sunny San Diego State University, where he studied electrical engineering. After seeing recruiters for the crew team on campus and their 8+ with oars in the middle of the quad, Bill decided to walk-on as a Freshman, following in the footsteps of his father, who rowed at UCLA. As soon as Bill got into the barge used to teach novices to row, he was bit by the rowing bug and never turned back. Bill rowed all four years he was eligible, rowing on the freshmen squad for one year and the lightweight squad for three years (with some guest appearances in the varsity squad).

Bill (3 seat) during a guest row with Ancient Mariner’s Rowing Club.

Between semesters at SDSU in the summer of 1980, Bill walked onto the lightweight national team camp and spent several weeks rowing twice a day have the most fun being “young and stupid” (his words!). A particular memory that stands out to Bill was his boat’s performance against rowers assumed to be much faster than them. During a practice at precamp at Yale, 16 oarsmen were divided into two 8+s, while Bill, two other spares, and an assistant coach were thrown in a straight 4+, otherwise known as the boat that was not expected to survive precamp. To the surprise of many, except maybe those who know Bill well, the straight 4+ dusted the two 8+s in every single piece of the practice.

At the Opening Day Regatta in April 1981, Bill stroked the SDSU JV boat to an impressive victory. His boat took a lead off the start and managed to pull away from the pack of boats going through the Montlake cut. With six boats behind them, Bill felt on top of the world and knew the competition would never catch them. After the race, Bill gladly received the betting shirts owed to his boat from the other crews. To this day, Bill still has his college betting shirts from this fun tradition.

Bill (far left) flexing for the camera with WRC.

After college, Bill took a brief, 30-year hiatus from rowing. In 2011, however, a friend dared Bill to come back to rowing. Bill had a similar experience to his first days on the water at SDSU; he was bitten once more by the rowing bug and left wondering why he ever stopped in the first place. The rowing community owes a big thank you to this friend, and his dare, for bringing Bill back to the rowing world. Bill rowed with Westford Community Rowing in Massachusetts before moving to Boulder in 2018.

With WCR, Bill raced at the Head of the Charles in the Men’s Masters 8+. Bill fondly remembers the electric feeling of rowing through the final bridges on the course and hearing the roaring crowd.

Bill (stroke seat) in the Men’s Masters 8+ at the Charles.

Bill’s favorite part of rowing is the community and friendships built through a collective passion for the sport. Reflecting on his time at BCR, Bill notes from his first trial row, he knew BCR and its community were the club for him.  Bill rows both sides and sculls, and though he has been rowing in 7 seat quite frequently at BCR, there is no seat in the boat he dislikes.

Outside of rowing, Bill focuses on a career in electrical engineering, outdoor activities such as hikes, bike rides, and kayak trips, and his family, including his wife and two children. Bill’s son currently lives in Golden and works at an aerospace company, and his daughter lives in DC and works in consulting.

BCR is so grateful to have Bill as part of our community, and we look forward to the many memories to come with him!

In the first regatta of 2020, BCR rowers headed to Tempe, AZ to race at Desert Sprints on Tempe Town Lake February 29 – March 1. BCR kicked off the regatta on Saturday with 2000m races. Both the men’s 8+ and women’s 8+ felt smooth and solid despite BCR’s not having rowed on the water yet this year. Sunday saw 1000m races and competitive performances by many BCR scullers. The highlight of BCR’s races, though, was the mixed masters 8+. With a “minor” height difference in stern pair (see below) and two novices in the boat, the mixed 8+ represented well the community fostered by BCR. BCR welcomes rowers and coxswains of any experience level, including those who have never seen or touched an oar, and creates an environment where we all work to improve our rowing skills and build community. The competitive race, with BCR finishing in second place by less than one second, demonstrates how this community rowing team produces a team of fast and motivated rowers from all backgrounds.

Nance and Katie get ready to warm up in the singles.

The “minor” height difference of the mixed masters 8+ stern pair, Meredith and Eric R.

During indoor training, Coach Vee cooks up BCR’s “secret sauce” by emphasizing that the team does not simply erg, but applies rowing mechanics on the erg. We focus more on technique than conditioning, allowing conditioning to occur within the context of mechanics, and focusing on how our rowing technique applies to moving the boat. This “secret sauce” proved itself in BCR’s great results, which can be found here for Saturday and Sunday. 

Will, Tom, Lauren, Sonia, and Eric O. race the mixed 4+.

Racing on the water provided BCR an opportunity to better understand what technique to focus on until our return to the Boulder Reservoir. During the races we learned the importance of shifting body weight to support boat run, specifically shifting out of the bow. Coach Vee has incorporated this focus into several workouts, and this newfound attention provides extra motivation and encouragement for our last few weeks indoors.

A huge part of BCR’s club identity is volunteering at every regatta we attend, and Desert Sprints was no exception. BCR rowers took on volunteer roles working as stake boat holders, directing parking, setting up speaker systems, working at the Regatta Central tent, and assisting with course setup and adjustment. BCR rowers who did not have a specific role took care to help clean up the regatta site before departing. The Tempe park director came over to thank the team for their hard work in volunteering, demonstrating the importance of BCR’s emphasis on being good stewards of any and all places we row.

A special thanks to Jacob, Monique, and Meredith for the race photos!  

Joe, Jim H, Eric R, and Preston launch for the men’s 4x race.

This August, Boulder Community Rowing sent a strong contingent to the U.S. Masters National Regatta and we came back with more than just medals and memories — we also purchased an amazing new boat! It's a Filippi convertible coxed four and it's FAST!

How fast? Two-thirds of the boats at the most recent world rowing championships were Filippis.

Buying this shell onsite offered us the chance to save on shipping fees and to "try before we buy." We're confident that the new 4+ creates a new standard for BCR's fleet and the ability to launch a race boat that leaves no question about the equipment holding us back. 

The club is actively fundraising to offset the cost of this investment. Here are some possibilities for you to contribute:

• Boat launch and inaugural row celebration (date pending). Our top boat contributors will paddle the new Filippi amidst an all-team gathering and a Champagne toast!

• "Filippi Friday" rows with Coach Vee — book a seat in the new boat with a donation of $100 or more per rower and you'll also get a coached team session on Friday mornings this summer and fall. Gather your crew and reserve your date.

• A naming gift can be arranged with the club for a donor (or group of donors) that would like to put an indelible stamp on your commitment to BCR. Send a message to info@boulderrowing.org if a gift of $6,000 or more is feasible. Or contact Mark Eller, mobile phone: 970-948-0827

 Boulder Community Rowing is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit so your contributions are likely eligible for tax deductions (consult your tax professional for details). If your company offers gift matching we can help with the paperwork. 

 Thank you for considering this request. Our club is achieving amazing things ... this is an exciting chapter in our history and one that we hope you'll help support. 

 As Coach Vee likes to say, "For you I will!"

 Best Regards, 

 Meredith Howe

President of Boulder Community Rowing