Saturday, March 2, 2002 was a spectacular opening for the Oakland Strokes Novice Women=s season. Under nearly perfect weather conditions the Women=s Novice A, Women’s Novice Freshman, Novice B, C, and D boats, and two Novice fours with coxswain swept virtually every race in which they were entered. After qualifying even after losing an oar in their qualifying heat, the Women=s Novice A boat roared back in the day=s final 1500 meter race to defeat all challengers by over two boat lengths. The Strokes’ strong overall showing against novice crews from all over California validated a tremendous amount of hard preseason work by these young women and set a tone of anticipation for the upcoming race season.

Starting last summer over fifty high school women have been learning the techniques and traditions of sweep rowing on the Oakland Estuary as new members of the Oakland Strokes. As novice rowers (rowers who are in their first year) this group of primarily freshman and sophomore girls, joined by a few juniors and seniors, has been learning how to propel four and eight-oared shells over a 2,000 meter course in the fastest time possible. Along the way they have begun to learn life-long lessons in dedication, teamwork, and sacrifice that will remain with them long after their rowing careers have ended.

Head Coach Beth Anderson, an Oakland Strokes and UCLA rowing alumna, has an impressive coaching background, including coaching at U.C. Davis, and coaching both men and women at the national level. Beth has also been a member of the Board of Directors of U.S. Rowing for the past four years. Amanda Herbert, a Stokes alumna and former coxswain at University of Washington, assists Beth in coaching the large group of Novice Women.

The Strokes novice women come from various public and private high schools in the East Bay. Rowers from Oakland, Piedmont, Alameda, Lafayette and Orinda meet at the new Jack London Aquatic Center next to Estuary Park for practices that begin at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays, and on Wednesday through Friday after school. On the water the rowers learn how to handle their oars, balance their boat, and how to accept directions from their coxswain, who guides the eight oarsmen and steers the shell. The novice Strokes are engaged daily in a high level fitness program that prepares them for the demands of rowing. The Aerg,@ a rowing machine that measures a rower=s performance, provides indoor exercise and Aerging@ is coupled with running and weight training. However, the focus of any crew is to learn to push their eight-oared shell faster than the competition, a feat that is generally far more exhausting than the dry-land training tasks. Balance must match strength in rowing and it requires extensive time on the water to develop the feel of the boat and to achieve the balance necessary for a successful boat to be properly rowed. These women will long remember their sessions in the dark on cold winter mornings.

The winning Women=s Novice A boat was coxed by freshman Amelia Pillsbury of Piedmont HS and stroked by PHS freshman Victoria Peckham. Freshmen Sarah Moore of PHS and Ashley Jones of Millennium joined freshmen Rebekah Kharrazi of Alameda=s Arthur Anderson HS, Lauren Hofmayer of Miramonte HS, sophomore Emilee Johnson of Heritage Family HS and seniors Malia Vella and Rani Hamann-Nagaroff of Bishop O=Dowd in powering the winning boat. PHS= Jessica Grossman coxed the winning Freshman eight stroked by PHS= Jackie Espana. French American=s Lauren Finston, Dame=s Sonia Gorzkowski, Sacred Heart=s Kyle Cannon, rowers Kaitlin Hollis, and Samantha Setterbo joined PHS rower Laurra Gerhardt, and Holy Names= Tory Kaso in the boat. PHS coxswain Caroline Hertel and PHS rowers Allie Clayton, Julia Batavia and Lauren Kunze also competed for the Strokes.

The remaining spring schedule is as follows:

Dame

As the Novice Women begin their rowing careers they are following in a significant tradition of rowing excellence developed by the Oakland Strokes. In late January a dinner/sleepover with the Varsity Women began to build the bonds that will hopefully allow this year=s novice rowers to enjoy the Stokes traditions of rowing and winning for years to come.