We'll Miss You Austin!

Today's entry is on Austin Phillips-- our wonderful Academic Director and Novice Coach who is headed off to law school in the fall to attend the University of Tennessee. Lucky for Tennessee, sad for Row New York.

Austin joined us in the summer of 2007 and has added so much to Row New York that I'm not entirely sure where to begin. I called one of her old coaches to ask him if he had anyone to recommend for the job when Austin announced her decision to go to law school. His response? "Amanda, you're not going to find another Austin." Lucky for us, we DO have a wonderful replacement for Austin (more on her soon), but we sure are going to miss her.

Austin has this way about her that naturally draws others toward her. It's not uncommon to find a small swarm of girls around her desk on any given afternoon. I guess that's where the term "magnetic" personality becomes appropriate. In a kind, but firm way, Austin has demanded respect from the girls and she has asked a lot of them....be on time, work hard, be strong, no excuses, be good to one another, no exceptions. And she has been many things to them...coach, mentor, tutor, life advisor.

One of my favorite Austin moments was when, at the last minute, Planned Parenthood cancelled a workshop they were to run and Austin, in two short hours, successfully came up with a curriculum to cover reproductive health and healthy relationships and we all know what that's code for, right? Unsurprisingly, the workshop went very well.

I'll also never forget the first day of practice for her first group of 45 novices. We were at the boathouse and it was a beautiful September afternoon. Austin, after only meeting these girls for about an hour at tryouts, somehow knew ALL of their names. I asked her how this was possible and she explained that she had spent the night before committing them all to memory based on their tryout forms which included Polaroid pictures. You should have seen the look of surprise when the girls realized that someone from Row NY already knew their names. These are the "little" things that go so far.

There are so many stories like the few I just shared, but I think everyone gets the idea. Austin has been wonderful and we will all miss her terribly. On a lighter note, I am including a picture of Austin performing the stanky leg dance at a regatta this spring. Important note, the regatta was officially over at this point.

Thank you Austin---we will miss you!

Row NY's CHAMPS Middle School Regatta

Row New York’s spring 2009 CHAMPS Program, conducted in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation, provided 10 weeks of learn-to-row, water safety, and team-building activities for girls from four middle schools in Brooklyn and Queens. The program culminated on June 10th with a CHAMPS Regatta, which brought students and families out to the Meadow Lake Boathouse and pitted MS 53 against the Scholars Academy in a best-of-three barge race. All three races were extremely close: Scholars Academy took the first, MS 53 took the second, and Scholars took the third by less than half a length. The team from MS 53 received silver medals and the Scholars Academy team received gold medals and the 2009 Row New York CHAMPS trophy to display at their school.

Eight students from Junior High School 185 in Queens also attended the Row New York CHAMPS festivities. After completing 10 weeks of learn-to-row activities, these girls had their first experience of getting in a real rowing shell and taking their first few strokes, with the guidance of Row New York’s competitive rowers. They looked strong and confident in the boat, and we are looking forward to seeing them at the tryouts for our competitive team in the fall.

Special thanks to Kathy Walker from the CHAMPS Program and Ben Nisbet from the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation for their support of Row New York CHAMPS and for joining us at the Regatta.

After 5 Years With RNY, Camille Graduates!

When we met Camille (picture above with her mom, Amelia) she was 12 and shorter than her mom. The pair showed up at the boathouse after reading an article in the newspaper about Row New York. Amelia had a feeling rowing would be a good sport for her daughter. They were enthusiastic, friendly, frankly, Camille was pretty adorable...all limbs and feet at age 12. But, we had to turn them away since Camille wasn't even in 7th grade yet.

Amelia and Camille showed up on the dock again when Camille started 8th grade. The rest is history. Camille gained strength and speed with Row New York winning silver at New York State Championships two years in a row, five years later, she is a high school graduate headed off to row at the University of Central Florida....on a full rowing scholarship!

Congratulations to Camille and her family!

60 Women for 60 Girls on the Water

It was a wonderful day at the Row New York boathouse in Queens this morning. We launched "60 Women for 60 Girls" about a month ago in an effort to get more women involved with Row New York. We're not up to 60 yet, but I'm confident we'll get there. For now, we have a great group of 14. 

The group met at the boathouse this morning to learn to row with help from experienced Row New York girls. Cherylyn Ahrens and Jessica Rispoli already know their way around a boat (that's an understatement as they are both accomplished oarswomen), but for the rest, this was their first time in a boat. 

We took a few minutes for everyone to meet. This was after sending the gaggle of children and fathers off to the playground while "mom rowed." See the picture on this blog of Mandy with her four beautiful children (one more is on the way!). 

Personally, I really enjoyed hearing the women talk to the girls about their own histories and where they are now. They confirmed that, indeed, the path from point A to point B is certainly a winding one. And, as Cherylyn pointed out, we should all enjoy the trip. 

The girls talked too. We got to hear about where they go to school and what they want to become and why they row. I will never tire of hearing the answer to the last question. To get strong, to be on the water, to learn to push myself. Good lessons for us all. 

Anyway, after plenty of bagels and coffee and talking, we hit the water for an hour. The Row NY girls helped teach the new rowers how to get their blades in the water and, I have to say, I was impressed. Sheila, Meredith, Jen, and Mandy got it pretty quickly. They're clearly athletic, fit, and determined so that definitely helped. 

So, thank you all....Row New York girls and women from 60 for 60, we're off to a great start! 

The Annual Huntington Barbecue

People might think that being on the board of a non-profit organization is limited to fundraising, attending meetings, helping with oversight, etc. It's a little known fact that Row New York's board members don't stop there. The annual Huntington barbecue (hosted by David Huntington, Sarah Pfuhl, and little Scarlett and Charlie) is a perfect example. 

Poor David and Sarah, I don't think they knew that the barbecue they put together in 2005 would quickly become christened an "annual" event by the Row New York girls. I put the blame on the girls here, but the truth is, it's one of my favorite days of the year too. 

David grills about 500 cheeseburgers and Sarah makes amazing brownies and the beauty of a group of teenagers, among other things, is that they are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves (and others). It doesn't hurt that the Huntington's house is located in Millbrook, NY on rolling green hills overlooking a stream. 

Previn brought his guitar so there was singing, Wyatt brought his extra large red plastic bat and huge purple ball so "ball sport challenged rowers" were capable of successfully playing wiffle ball, and there was the usual hyper competitive game of ultimate Frisbee too. Ports Vs Starboards. Go ports! 

Thanks David and Sarah, for another beautiful day!

See you next year :) 

An NBC Internship for a Row NY Grad!

Simone D'Abreu (Row NY class of '08) just finished her freshman year at Smith College. Actually, she's still up in Massachusetts training with the women's crew. Thanks to Lee Crain at NBC and the introduction by Row NY board member, Derek Chang at DirecTV, Simone will start an internship with the marketing department this summer. Go Simone!

Welcome to the Row New York Blog

Welcome! A lot of people have been asking for more Row NY updates. Where are the girls getting into college? How did they do at States? How is Seymour doing? We (well, Mike really!) created this blog so our followers, fans, funders, families (I can't think of any more "f"s) can see what's happening at Row New York.

Here's the latest re-cap (thanks to Previn and Austin):

State Championship regatta: 


Varsity 4+: Silver medal in the club four division - second year in a row! 


Both novices 8s finished in the top 10 
...great results!

College Acceptances ($ = full scholarship): 


Charlotte - SUNY Binghamton ($)

Amber - Smith College 


Camille - University of Central Florida ($)

Jodie - NYU

Rachel - Fordham University ($)

Rose - Lehigh University 


Stephanie - Rutgers University ($) 


Another year, another 100% of the seniors off to college!

News coverage: NBC4 did a great piece a couple weeks back