steady state podcast
From indoor rowing, to flat water masters, to coastal and ocean adventurers - together we explore rowing culture.
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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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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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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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Rowing's Cultural Connection for Pacific Islander Youth
At Peninsula Community Rowing Club, Tongan American coach Anthony Heimuli is making an impact in his San Francisco-area rowing community, providing young athletes a deeper understanding of community and self. And with his eyes set firmly on the 2026 Youth Olympics and LA2028, Anthony is working to establish the Pacific Islander Rowing Association to develop high-performance athletes for international competition.
Coach Cassandra Cunningham On Curiosity, Consistency and Growth
Coach Cassandra Cunningham, founder of P3 Physical Education, and coach with Endeavor Racing Alliance, believes in the power of curiosity to drive success. This wide ranging conversation for rowers and coaches touches on the power of sport, positive mindset, being present, trusting the process, and blending with your teammates.
Lenny O’Donnell is Preserving Rowing History
Holding an old canister in his hands, rower and documentary film producer Lenny O’Donnell’s heart skipped a beat. “Berlin 1936,” read the note on an old piece of athletic tape stuck to its lid. After years in storage, unseen for several decades, Lenny was entrusted to restore and digitize the film, along with boxes of other historic photos, film, and ephemera documenting the University of Washington crew.
Behind the Lens: Row2k Founder Ed Hewitt
In 1997, just 36% of adults went online. Google didn’t exist yet. And a guy with information to share about Eastern Sprints cobbled together some HTML to get the word out. And so, row2k.com was born. Twenty seven years later, founder and owner Ed Hewitt joins us to talk about how his own rowing journey has paralleled the growth of one of the most visited rowing-related websites in the world.
No Water? No Problem. Rower and Trainer Cassi Niemann Thrives in Albuquerque
Cassi Niemann is the lead UCanRow2 Master Rowing Instructor, a competitive power lifter, and the owner of CASstrong, where she blends rowing with her expertise as a strength coach. She not only helps indoor rowers improve their skills and confidence on the machine, but also trains other coaches to effectively integrate rowing into a variety of fitness settings.
Giving and Getting Support: Burnham Boat Slings’ Peter Kermond
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.
Back to School with Lindsay Dare Shoop
In 2002, Lindsay Dare Shoop reluctantly walked-on at the University of Virginia. Within a year she became an NCAA Division I All American. In four years she broke a world record and earned her first World Championship. Within six years her hard work manifested a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Today she seeks to help others remove self-imposed limitations. This Fall, 20 years after it all began, the author of Better Great Than Never returns to UVA as an assistant coach, paying it forward.
This thought-provoking conversation considers serendipity, struggle, pressures on student athletes, walk-ons, team-building, rowing for life, Head of the Charles (and being coxed by Mary Whipple), and a whole lot more.
Rebekah Armstrong on Getting and Giving Support
Capital Juniors and Wisco alum Rebekah Armstrong talks about the (slowly) changing face of rowing in the United States, finding mentors and support, and her drive to help BIPOC athletes as a certified mental performance consultant.
S4E3: The Freshman (Power) 15 with Corin Wiggins
Corin Wiggins, a recruited coxswain for the Hobart College men’s crew, established @TheBlackCoxswain Instagram account in 2020, in an effort to connect athletes of color in the rowing community. Two years later, she has forged a community of thousands online and on the water.
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