Masters Make World Championship Debut

Posted on by Jessica Merriam

At the peak of a hot Florida summer, North Palm Beach Rowing Club’s “masters” team – in rowing, this refers to adults over age 23 – seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make its World Championship debut on US soil. For the first time ever, the FISA World Masters Championship was held in Florida at Sarasota’s Nathan Benderson Park – a new, sprawling top-notch international rowing venue just a four hour drive from NPBRC’s home base. This was an opportunity not to be missed.

Eleven stalwart NPBRC athletes joined competitors from 365 other clubs around the world for a shot at the coveted title of World Champion. Competitors came from as far away as Australia, Argentina, India, Russia, and nearly everywhere in between. South Africans. Swiss. Japanese. The international representation was absolutely staggering, a virtual United Nations of the rowing world. Within the US, this race drew top talent from our country’s most renowned and storied clubs. The venue was packed with every age, shape, and size imaginable: former elite athletes mingling with octogenarians, new racers soaking it in alongside some of the most recognizable names in rowing. When it was all said and done, when the burn of lactic acid was done and hearts and lungs returned to a more sustainable pace, NPBRC’s rowers left the racecourse with one third place finish, multiple fourth place finishes, and many other hard-fought races under their belts, experience that has only heightened the team’s hunger for more and sharpened skills for seasons to come.

Regardless of the outcome, one fact stands out. North Palm Beach took to the field when many others dared not.

Opportunity seen. Opportunity seized.

Two State Titles, Top Finishes at FSRA Championship Regatta

Posted on by Jessica Merriam

North Palm Beach Rowing Club’s youth team notched it’s best performance ever this year at the 2018 Florida State Sculling Championships, hosted by the FL Scholastic Rowing Association (FSRA). NPBRC is now home to the two fastest female single scullers in Florida youth rowing, Gracie Leon (Girls Varsity 1x) and Maricella Adams-Grimaldi (Girls Jr. 1x), who dominated the field in their respective events to capture gold against the fastest scullers in the state.  Meanwhile, NPBRC qualified 4 other of their 8 total entries (for a total of 6) into the Grand Final of their events. Of these, NPBRC walked away with two 5th place Grand Final finishes and two 6th place finishes. Perhaps most importantly, though, each and every NPB entry left it all on the racecourse. For many NPBRC rowers, this was their first year of competition and first ever appearance at a rowing state championship – an admirable performance by all. For others, like senior Lucas Rossell, who finished top 6 in the state against one of the toughest fields in the regatta, the boys Lightweight 1x, the event capped an extensive – and very impressive – high school rowing career.

With the regular season behind it, several North Palm Beach athletes will continue on to USRowing’s Southeast Regional Championship and the USRowing Youth National Championship, and much of the team will continue to hone their skills as they prepare for races nationally and internationally.

 

 

Second NPBRC Rower invited to Jr. National Team Camp

Posted on by Jessica Merriam

North Palm Beach Rowing Club athlete Gracie Leon has become the second NPBRC rower this season to be invited to a USRowing Junior National Team Development Camp. Gracie began rowing with NPBRC in 2016. According to USRowing, she was invited based on several factors, including her many wins this year (the Southeast Regional Championship as one example, in which she won two gold medals), her ergometer score, and her proven potential.

As stated in USRowing’s invitation letter, the purpose of this Development Camp is to identify future hopefuls for the 2018 and 2019 US Junior National Team and increase the pool of available athletes from which to choose future National Team competitors. Gracie is one of only 24 girls from across the United States selected to attend this camp, which focuses on singles (1x), doubles (2x), and quads (4x). USRowing’s goal is to “identify athletes with potential early in their rowing careers and put them in an environment where they can learn and grow in the sport. This will help them better understand the process for contending for a World Championship.”

We are very proud of Gracie’s accomplishment and the incredible results that our coaching staff, parents and teammates have produced in such a short time.