Bill Byrd has been rowing for nearly six decades and was a founding member of Willamette Rowing Club in Portland Oregon. One morning in 2018, he suffered a heart attack while training in his single. This is a story about living well, being prepared, the power of having all hands on deck, and survival.

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. 

Bonnie Garmus was a competitive masters rower for years before an offhand comment during a business meeting prompted her to begin writing her first novel, "Lessons in Chemistry," which has been adapted into a hit Apple TV+ series. Everyone wants to talk with Bonnie about the book’s main character, Elizabeth Zott, so we turned the table to ask Bonnie about the role rowing plays in her life – and her best selling novel.

Established in 1892, ZLAC's unique structure allows for both competitive and social memberships. You don't have to row. New members are added to generational Crews to bolster cross-program and boathouse interaction and provide personal connections to members in a similar age range for support. As far as we know, ZLAC is unique in this offering. Be prepared to take notes and consider what more your club could do to help build and sustain community.

After guilt-tripping her son into learning to row, Jenn followed suit. At 38 she stepped into a boat for the first time and quickly became an accomplished masters rower. She also gained new appreciation for her grandpa – Joe Rantz – who was a member of the 1936 University of Washington V8 that won Olympic gold in Berlin. By unlikely happenstance, Joe’s scrapbooks became the spark for The Boys in the Boat.

Get to know Indianapolis Rowing Center, host of the 2023 USRowing Masters National Championships. We talk with IRC board President Janet Francis, Masters Head Coach Zach Christopher, and recent LTR grad Lisa Stickley. Developed in the 1980s, the race course at Eagle Creek remains one of the country’s premiere venues, host to PanAm Games, World Rowing Championships, NCAA Championships, and a lot more. Get an inside scoop on Vendors Village, course strategy, and IRC, Indy’s only rowing club.

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. 

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.

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.