May 9th, 2017 – This past weekend the Tulsa Youth Rowing Association competed in the Central Youth Rowing Championships. The event is organized each year and represents the region championship for youth rowing organizations from Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Each boat class competes over the Olympic distance of 2000m.
Tulsa was successful in a number of events. Most notably, the Girls’ Freshman quad, a new division in the event this year. The crew of Jordan Bollinger (Booker T. Washington), Elisabeth Jones (Holland Hall), Brita Faerber (Booker T. Washington), Gabby Orr (Jenks) rowed to a bronze medal. This result bodes well for the future of the program given the youth of this crew. The girls’ team also found success in the Girls’ Second Double. Lydia Bollinger (Booker T. Washington) and Maya Bulmer (Booker T. Washington) placed 4th just narrowly missing the third place berth by a few seconds. Somerlyn Talladivedula (Riverfield Country Day School) also rowed to a 5th place in the girls under 17 singles.
“My race was a lot better than I expected. I was nervous at first, since it was my first time racing a single but I think I got the hang of it after the first hundred meters. I was shocked to hear I had made it to finals when I got to the dock after the race, and going into the final I was more nervous than I was for the first race. I think the team had a tough weekend racing against teams like Dallas United and OKC, but we represented ourselves well with multiple boats advancing to the finals. Overall it was a good weekend, even though only one boat medaled. ” said Talladivedula of the team’s collective efforts.
In addition to this success, the TYRA boys’ program earned respectable finishes in the boys’ varsity double. Iain Kazmierczak and Drake Coburn (Both Booker T. Washington) rowed to a 5th place finish. Sterling Shine (Edison) and Bryan Cooper (Booker T. Washington) also placed in 5th in the boys’ varsity pairs.
Head Coach Tamara Clayton was pleased with her team’s results.
“Central Youth Championships is what we train for all season. A total of 19 crews participated in the regatta this year, and the competition was the highest I have seen thus far. Our boats fought hard, and as their coach, I am extremely proud of each of them. We had a freshman girls’ boat earn a bronze medal; when I caught up with the girls after their race, all were in tears – happy ones of course. It was a great birthday present for one of them! As rowing becomes more popular across the nation, it is my hope that Tulsans become more and more aware of the great opportunity that we offer for middle and high schoolers,” said Clayton.
The Tulsa Youth Rowing Association is offering summer camps for 7th – 12th-grade student-athletes who are interested in finding out more about the sport and all of the opportunities that the club provide. Camp registration is online and available at the club website at www.okrowing.org
For more information about the TYRA program please contact Head Coach Tamara Clayton at 918.606.4596 or via email at coacht@okrowing.org.