STEADY STATE PODCAST
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Yaz Farooq on Leadership and Legacy
Fall semester at the University of Wisconsin, 1984. The United States just weeks before had won the first-ever W8+ Olympic gold medal. A 5’4” freshman named Yasmin Farooq walks on to the Wisco crew as a coxswain and wonders “Can I win an Olympic medal, too?” More than 40 years later, this Olympic captain, world champion, and Hall of Fame coach gets into it with us about the importance of skill development, tradition, student-athlete success, and the post-practice huddle.
Cillian Mullen: “There’s Always Gonna’ Be a Way”
In 2021, Cillian Mullen was at a pivotal moment — navigating his identity, the college recruitment process, and transgender athlete policies. Five years later, his journey has taken him to the U19 and U23 National Teams, and the University of Washington. We catch up with Cillian to explore what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how he’s continuing to carve out his place in rowing.
Mass. Local Ellen Minzner on HOCR, Para, and Equity in Rowing
Head of the Charles Announcing Committee co-chair, USRowing Para High Performance Director, and Massachusetts native Ellen Minzner. From walk on at Villanova to 5-time National Team member, to her transition into coaching and program development Ellen saw the long game: changing the status quo of her clubs, organizations, and communities. She also gives a peek behind the curtains at the world’s premier annual rowing competition - the Head of the Charles - from her vantage point in the announcers booth on top of Cambridge Boat Club.
SPECIAL SERIES
heart health & Emergencies
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Only a handful of rowing clubs around the world cater specifically to the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, questioning and ally community. In Part 1 of our Pride month special, we introduce you to leaders at DC Strokes Rowing Club and the Melbourne Argonauts Queer Rowing Club who talk with us about rowing and the gay rights movement in the 1990s, safe spaces, and why this part of the diversity issue is still relevant today.
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Chicago Rowing Union (CRU) is the Midwest's only LGBTQ+ rowing organization, and one of just a few such clubs in the world. CRU member and social media manager Michael Toutloff talks with us about the importance of safe spaces and being yourself, finding community and competition on the water, and proudly flying the flag at regattas.
GENDER INCLUSION POLICIES
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In 2021, Cillian Mullen was at a pivotal moment — navigating his identity, the college recruitment process, and transgender athlete policies. Five years later, his journey has taken him to the U19 and U23 National Teams, and the University of Washington. We catch up with Cillian to explore what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how he’s continuing to carve out his place in rowing.
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Dr. Mary O’Connor was a member of the influential 1976 Yale women’s rowing program that sparked big changes following the passage of Title IX. Today, she’s a member of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports – an advocacy group “seeking to elevate and empower female athletes by protecting safety, fairness, and opportunity for girls and women.”
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In this second episode in a special series on gender identity policies in rowing, we talk with Ann Strayer, OLY, Varsity Women’s Coach at Oakland United Rowing. Together with fellow OUR coach and Olympian Erin Cafaro they have written a letter in support of USRowing’s gender identity policy, highlighting the importance of welcoming transgender and non-binary scholastic athletes into the boathouse, and allow them to row as the gender they identify with.
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Gender Identity Policies series, part 3. Kevin Harris’s coaching career began in the early 1990s and culminated with 20+ years at the helm of the University of Tulsa women’s rowing program. Harris offers an in-depth and thought-provoking perspective on DEI, the importance of boathouses as welcoming spaces, the prevalence of transgender and non-binary rowers in the United States, and gender inclusion policies.
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Gender Identity Policies series, part 4. The current USRowing gender inclusion policy leaves transgender, non-binary, and other gender nonconforming rowers with very few opportunities to race. Non-binary rower Dr. David Scherzer, and transgender rower/coach Bobbi Kizer, PhD explore their personal journeys with the sport and what policies and petitions mean for the future of rowing.
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Boat clubs have historically catered to binary athletes, and are figuring out how to put out a welcome mat for trans, and gender non-conforming athletes. Our guests, two trans rowers, talk inclusion, courage, and supportive coaches and teammates.
pride
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Willamette Rowing Club couple David Setter and Sarah Copeland are enthusiastic about having learned to row as adults and use the word "fun" to describe their rowing life way more than anyone else we've can think of. But one day in 2018, David had a heart attack. Together, David and Sarah recount that day and why he survived, and delve into recovery and returning to the boat. We also come to terms with erg splits going up as we get older and talk about learning to enjoy rowing for the sake of rowing.
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A member of the first U.S. women’s Olympic team and a longtime masters rower, Sue Hooten has a lifetime of rowing memories. She learned to row in California in the early 1970s, really appreciated the boathouse sock box in Philadelphia, and has raced around the world. In March 2018, her husband, former National Team and Vesper Boat Club coach John Hooten, had a medical emergency on the water while training in his 1x. He was out with his training partner, without a coach, and – like most rowers – was not wearing a PFD.
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Peter Kermond has been the face and voice of Burnham Boat Slings since purchasing the business in 1999. When he's not in the shop, or out rowing, he is probably manning a Burnham booth at a regatta. That’s where we met him – at Head of the Charles – in 2022, just a month after he survived a widow maker heart attack. Peter and his wife Carin Reynolds are both successful national team and masters rowers and high school coaches. They are a testament to teamwork, as they navigated Peter’s health emergency and rehabilitation, and his return to racing.
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Damion Winship had only been coaching for the Ancient Mariners Rowing Club for a short while the morning his coaching life changed. A masters rower new to his program had a heart attack on the water. Hear how Damion worked through his emergency checklist, how his CPR training kicked in, and how the crew worked together to try to save a life.
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