New Trier High School’s girls varsity rowing team started off the season strong with a first, second, third, and fourth place finish in the Junior Women’s event of the Chicago River Half Marathon on Sept. 7. Their success marks the beginning of a much longer set of promising regattas this year. 

While most sports begin and end with the seasons, rowing requires a diligent, year-long effort—summer practices, smaller fall regattas and winter land-trainings––to prepare for bigger regattas that take place in late spring. Although the team’s rankings at fall competitions do not count towards the road to nationals, the girls use the first few conferences to develop their skills and communication on the water.

“I would like to have all of our boats, every single kid, make it to nationals and medal,” girls rowing varsity head coach Sandy Culver said. 

Repeating, or surpassing, last year’s third place finish at Scholastic Nationals in May and No. 12 finish at the U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals in June has become a goal for the team. After an especially strong last season, many of the returning rowers are coming back with national titles under their belt, eager for more. 

The team’s strong performance on the water spurs from a difficult training process off the water. While the girls practice four days a week on the north channel of the Chicago River, they spend two additional days on land using the rowing machines, or “ergs”.

“We do a lot of erging,” Walker said. “Thats where most people encounter the mentally challenging aspect [of the sport]. It tells you how hard you’re pulling on every stroke. You can’t take a stroke off.”

“Last year we were one of the fastest teams in 10 years,” senior rower Orla Walker said. “My goal is to align with last year.”

While the repetitive nature of the training can be draining, the girls maintain a positive and dedicated mindset, putting their team above themselves.

“Rowing side-by-side with everyone, going at the same pace, and doing the same workout is always a big motivator,” senior rower Ava Hudson said. “You look down the row and you see 30 other girls working. Everyone’s doing it. If you stop rowing, you get an oar in the back. It’s not really an option.”

What keeps the girls coming back are ultimately the strong connections the rowers form while training together. The girls constantly push each other for faster times and harder rows, forming an encouraging and motivating environment.

“The boat is so close,” Walker said, referring to both their relationships and physical spacing on the boat. “You’re making jokes with them the whole time and we hold each other accountable. You’re just around each other so much.”

This season, the team looks to implement even more support systems to help the girls reach their ultimate potential. According to Culver, varsity captains Jordan Novack, Adele Preston, Lucia Pozgay, and Cecilia Fowler have introduced training journals to set and reflect on the team’s bigger goals.

“We try to inspire everybody to find their athletic potential and be as good as they can be,” Culver said. “Being a good athlete doesn’t necessarily make a good rower. It can, and it does, but it isn’t always the first thing we look for. Having a lot of resilience is an advantage in our sport.”  

With the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston approaching on Oct. 17, the girls are working hard to prepare for international competition. There, the girls will compete against teams from nearly every state and various countries, which in the past have included France, Italy, and Ukraine (the official list for this year’s regatta has not yet been published).

“If we want to compete to win, we have to put in the work,” Walker said.