Clam Island Rowing Junior Team wins first gold

SILVERDALE — The Clam Island Junior Rowing Team participated in the U.S. Rowing Youth Northwest Championship for the first time in the club’s history, May 19-21.

And they came home with a gold medal.

The club entered four events: Women’s Novice 2x (double), Men’s Novice 2x, Women’s Novice 1x (single), and Men’s Novice 1x.

“Each crew exceeded all expectations that I could have had for them,” Clam Island head coach Dane Sellers said.

Teamwork and trust

The first race of the weekend was the Women’s Novice 2x. The crew (Allison Burns, 14, and Addie Talbot, 17), were one of 28 entries in the event. In their timed final, they competed from start to finish, 2,000 meters against some of the top crews in the event. In the last 500 meters, they found an extra gear and were able to walk through another boat to cross the line and post a time that put them at 20 out of 28.

“I am incredibly proud of how this boat and crew competed in their race,” Sellers said. “It was a tough season and we put this line-up together only a few short weeks before the race.

“It takes a lot of trust to row with someone. In rowing, if you try to do everything by yourself, your boat will not have success; you rely on the others in the boat and those two demonstrated that perfectly. They weren’t rowing just for themselves, they were focused on rowing for one another,” he said.

First gold medal

Soon after the Women’s Novice 2x, the Men’s Novice 2x (Matthew Nielson, 15, and Sawyer Alvey, 16) pulled up to the line and sat ready to row. They took a slight lead in the first 250 meters and battled against another crew the entire way down the course, until they were finally able to pull away in the last 250 meters and crossed the line in first place.

This was the Clam Island Junior Rowing Team’s first gold medal.

“Like the women’s 2x before them, the two in this boat put their own desires aside and just pulled for each other,” Sellers said.

“Rowing is a selfless sport. You put the needs for other before your own need for success every day. If you do not cooperate on the water, there is no success to be had. The success of this boat exemplified that. These two have been in this line-up all season and have developed a true friendship and trust. The relationship they built helped them to have that desire to have the other succeed and it worked.”

On May 20, the Men’s and Women’s Novice 1xs raced in their respective heats. First was the Men’s 1x (Matthew Nielson). Nielson had a good race and a tough lane draw, according to Sellers.

“He crossed the finish line in fourth place, barely missing out on qualifying for the Grand Final,” Sellers said. “Talking with him after the race, he said that he had one of his best rows of the year and felt that if the race had been a little longer, he could have caught the boat in front of him.”

Overall, Nielson finished seventh out of 12 entries.

Brooke Organ, 17, raced in the Women’s Novice 1x later Saturday afternoon. Like Nielson, she finished one spot out of the Grand Final. Finishing only three seconds behind the next boat, Brooke said she felt as though she had a little more left at the end of the race. She is optimistic about improving over the summer and the upcoming seasons. Brooke’s time was the fastest out of the boats who didn’t advance and placed 8th out of 13 entries.

“The 1x (single) is a different kind of race in rowing,” Sellers said. “It is the only boat that you are completely on your own. It takes a unique dedication and drive to be successful. I am truly impressed with how both Brooke and Matthew approached their races and how they rowed. They looked technically sound and strong coming into the finish line and it takes a lot of discipline to remain that composed at the end of a race.

A great first year

“Overall, the Northwest Youth Championship Regatta was a greater success than I could have imagined,” he said. “Talking with other coaches, these rowers made an impression and did the unexpected. The first year of racing, a new club isn’t expected to contend for medals and we were able to win a gold. In the first year of racing, clubs are expected to just gain experience and learn how to race, but in each event we were right there to the end, we competed, and we were successful. These rowers have set the bar high for all incoming team members. Every goal that I set out for this team they have either reached or blown out of the water. I cannot wait to see what is to come in future seasons.”

Clam Island Rowing Club summer camps

Registration is now open at for the club’s summer camps at www.clamislandrowing.com/row-with-us/juniors-rowing. The camps are open to youths ages 13 through 18. Sessions are 8-10:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Session 1 is July 5-27. Session 2 is July 31 to Aug. 17.

Learn to Row Day

The club’s National Learn to Row Day event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 3 in old town Silverdale. This is a free event for people of all ages, in which, they can learn how to row and get in a boat. This will be the club’s second year hosting this event.

For more information, contact Dane Sellers, 425-495-2839.

Dane Sellers assisted with this story.

— Terryl Asla is a reporter for the Kitsap News Group. he can be reached at tasla@soundpublishing.com.