Trading Oars for Megaphones: Olympian Kris Thorsness on Life as a USRowing Referee
This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.
In 1984, Kris Thorsness brought home gold in the U.S. women’s 8+ from the Olympic Games Los Angeles. Home was Alaska, where she was welcomed with a parade and the distinction of being the first Alaskan to win an Olympic medal.
Today she says she’s “just a masters rower,” but 40 years after that gold medal Olympic performance, she’s also a USRowing Referee and is an Arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the U.S. and Paralympic Committee.
Before she heads off to Paris for the 2024 Olympics in her role as an Arbitrator, we talk with Kris about refereeing, which is often glossed over by rowers but is key to ensuring regattas are safe and effectively run, with a focus on sportsmanship.
QUICK LOOK
00:00 - Welcome and Episode lead-In
01:34 - The Huddle
03:00 - Rowing Week
04:55 - The Hot Seat Q&A
06:30 - Favorite part of refereeing: the chase boat
08:57 - Favorite place to referee
09:40 - Challenges of referees and a lack of funding isn’t helping with bringing new refs down the pipeline
16:59 - Rowing Origin: walking on at the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!)
20:04 - Grit, coming back from behind, and being eager to go into the pain cave
23:36 - Accepting the pain and getting gold at the 1984 Olympic Games L.A.
26:04 - Advice for rowers aspiring towards the Olympics
30:44 - A pair of tan pants and a blue Oxford shirt got Kris started as a referee
31:55 - The process of becoming a USRowing referee
35:35 - What you need to understand about race officials
36:11 - Sassing the referees
38:30 - As an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, what types of cases *might* Kris handle at the Olympic Games Paris?
41:54 - Are there any doping concerns in Olympic rowing?
43:10 - As an IOC delegate, Kris has an all access pass to the events … if she has time to go
44:28 - Making the pitch to new potential referees
46:37 - SSN Events & Announcements
Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.
Episode Mentions
COACHES
Sue Ela
COXSWAINS
Betsy Beard
EVENTS
Olympic Games Paris 2024
GOVERNANCE
Court of Arbitration for Sport
International Olympic Committee
World Anti-Doping Agency
REFEREES
Jean Reilly
Bruce Soden
REGATTAS
Big10 Rowing Championships
Head of the Charles
USRowing Masters Nationals
World Rowing Cups
ROWERS
Carie Graves
UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
Princeton University
Radcliffe / Yale
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
USROWING
Board of Directors
Referee Development
Olympic and Senior National Team