STEADY STATE PODCAST

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Rachel Freedman 8/19/22 Rachel Freedman 8/19/22

[S3] Ep. 17 - East Bay Rowing Club Gains Speed in Oakland

A wide-ranging chat with EBRC President Denise Martini, DEI Committee co-chair Carla Jourdan, and Erin Cafaro, new Head Coach of Oakland Tech Men’s Varsity program. We dive into: Growing a rowing club to meet the needs of – and look like – the community; moving beyond standard certs for coaching education; and boycotting USRowing Masters Nationals and hosting Boats Without Barriers regatta as an alternative.

Rachel Freedman 8/5/22 Rachel Freedman 8/5/22

[S3] Ep. 16 - UPDATE: Tom Rooks, USRowing Health and Well-Being Associate

This wide-ranging conversation with Coach Tom Rooks is funny and philosophical. Learn about creating positive team culture, mentoring new coaches, the importance of vulnerability, handling anxiety, preparing for emergencies, and hear how the 2k erg test has become Tom’s measuring stick for all life’s challenges.

Rachel Freedman 7/24/22 Rachel Freedman 7/24/22

[S3] Ep. 15: Jasper Liu’s Rowing Dojo

From walk-on at the University of Pennsylvania to gold in the LM2x at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Jasper Liu is an elite-level lightweight rower who’s worked hard on and of the water to learn about all aspects of our sport. With his website - www.rowingdojo.com - he’s sharing the best and most useful information that he’s picked up from some of the best coaches in the country.

Rachel Freedman 7/8/22 Rachel Freedman 7/8/22

[S3] Ep. 14: The Stories We Tell … While Drinking

This special bonus episode was recorded live at Deer Apple Farm on Vashon Island, WA. After a long day – and a couple of local hard ciders – we started swapping rowing stories. So of course, we recorded it.

Rachel Freedman 6/24/22 Rachel Freedman 6/24/22

[S3] Ep. 13 - Marqus Brown: Testing the Waters at UW

From Fairmount Park rowing camp, to team captain at La Salle, to coach at BLJ Community Rowing – you could definitely call Marqus Brown a Philly guy. But the chance to coach for the prestigious University of Washington Huskies took Marqus out to Seattle, where he’s digging into the details to help his motivated crews move boats even faster.

Rachel Freedman 6/10/22 Rachel Freedman 6/10/22

[S3] Ep. 12 - Zoe Vais: Youth Rowing Evangelist

Zoe Vais is the George Pocock Rowing Center’s Middle School Programs Specialist. She’s also a coach for GPRF’s Camp Lucy – a free learn-to-row camp for girls, inclusive of non-binary, trans, and gender non-conforming youth. From being a walk-on at the University of Washington, to leaving a mark on Seattle rowing, Zoe offers a thoughtful look at slowly falling in love with the sport and the important role coaches play in young rowers’ lives.

Rachel Freedman 5/27/22 Rachel Freedman 5/27/22

[S3] Ep. 11 - Susan Kinne: A Meditation on Boats

When Susan Kinne cracked the bottom of a wooden hull, she never could have guessed that nearly 25 years later she’d be a master craftsman handling boat repairs of all sizes at Lake Washington Rowing Club. Just north of 70 years old, Susan handles everything from setting pitch to building Frankenstein 3x boats, is a powerhouse with tools and in a scull, and is a well of information about Pocock Racing Shells.

Rachel Freedman 5/13/22 Rachel Freedman 5/13/22

[S3] Ep. 10: Little Rock Rowing Builds CommuNity in Arkansas

Our club spotlight series takes us to Little Rock, Arkansas, which, according to members of Rock City Rowing, is sorely underrated. Located on a beautiful stretch of water in Little Rock, RCR is home to one of just two boathouses in the entire state offering programs for masters and juniors.

Rachel Freedman 4/28/22 Rachel Freedman 4/28/22

[S3] Ep. 9 - Isaac Kenyon: Seeking Connection, Finding Purpose

Isaac Kenyon just set his third ultra-distance world record on the Concept2 indoor rower. This follows on the heels of other huge achievements, like rowing the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and swimming the English Channel. We dive into the philosophy and motivation that helped him break free of the lure of screen time, and the coping mechanisms necessary to take on audacious challenges. Through it all, Isaac's advocated for the environment and Autism awareness.

Breast Cancer

Sue Ryan came to rowing through her journey as a breast cancer survivor, and she’s embraced the sport as both a challenge and a source of community. We talk about how the sport helped her move past childhood trauma, how it has shaped her cancer recovery, and the ways she’s found strength on and off the water as a member of Whitemarsh Boat Club, WeCanRow Philadelphia, and the Survivor Rowing Network.
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The Survivor Rowing Network is on a mission to create more opportunities for cancer survivors to row. Since launching in 2023, SRN has grown to 27 survivor rowing programs. In 2024, for the first time ever, the Head Of The Charles Regatta hosted a Survivor Rowing Network event, featuring 11 women’s 8s, all of them breast cancer survivors!
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Like many women who grew up before Title IX, Kathy Frederick spent her young life studying ballet. When, at 42, she learned to row it felt like dancing with partners and she was immediately hooked. Just a few years later in 1993, the loss of a dear friend to a women’s cancer prompted Kathy to host a fundraising event on Portland, Oregon’s Willamette River. From those modest beginnings Row for the Cure was born.
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A decorated middle distance track runner who learned to scull as an adult, Napoleon beat male breast cancer and today strives to get as much out of life as possible. He also survived Hurricanes Irma and Maria which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, causing long-lasting power outages and leaving residents without access to clean water. Motivated by a desire for more training and racing opportunities, Napoleon relocated to Texas, where he splits his time between Austin and Dallas.
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We chat with Patricia Carswell – aka Girl on the River – about all-in-ones (unisuits), breast cancer, blogging, creative coxswain calls, saving the planet, and unfortunate nicknames.
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Gender Inclusion

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.
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Heart Health

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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STEADY STATE PODCAST

SPECIAL SERIES

Breast Cancer

Gender Inclusion

Heart Health