EVERETT — Tucked away on Smith Island and ituated hard by the Snohomish River, the Everett Rowing Association boathouse is quiet for now.
For much of the year, the outpost is teeming with hardy rowers, athletes who are willing to challenge the limits of physical endurance in 60-foot racing shells. All for the greater good of the crew in what just might be the ultimate team sport.
In his tiny boathouse office, Matt Lacey, program director for the Everett Rowing Association (ERA), can finally take time to reflect on another highly successful year for the 21-year-old club and the bright prospects ahead.
January 2003 through early November was a 10-month whirlwind that started with indoor winter conditioning and culminated with the season’s final race on Lake Washington earlier this month.
The spring season included top-six finishes by ERA boats in each of three categories in June at the Junior Nationals — the second consecutive year the club has accomplished that feat. The men’s lightweight eight (under 150 pounds) placed third, the women’s open weight (over 130) placed fourth, and the women’s lightweight eight (under 130) finished sixth.
The fall campaign was highlighted by an ERA masters crew (ages 25 and over) earning a gold medal at the elite Head of the Lake Regatta in Seattle earlier in November.
"Hopefully, we’re becoming a fixture on the national scene," Lacey said.
Established in 1982, ERA has enjoyed steady growth in recent years. About 120 youths ages 13-18 turned out for the junior program last spring and indications are that number will jump next year. Eighty-five participated this fall, up from 60 the previous year. The adult group, including master rowers, has grown to about 30. The increases match a regional trend.
"The sport has probably doubled in size in the Pacific Northwest in the last five to six years," said Lacey who stressed that novices are welcome when the club’s spring season opens Feb. 9.
"There is no specific body type or athletic requirement. You just have to come in and find a passion for the sport," Lacey said. "Once it gets the hook into you … it tends to hold you for a long while."
In recent years, the Everett Rowing Association has sent more than a dozen athletes on to NCAA Division I collegiate rowing programs, including four who graduated from area high schools in 2003.
The club also boasts one of the most highly touted rowers in the nation in Kelly Foster, a senior at Lake Stevens High School.
Foster has narrowed her college choices to Stanford, Michigan and Washington, each of which has offered a full scholarship, she said. This after she visited Harvard and Yale, and made an unofficial trip to the University of Tennessee, where her longtime friend, and former ERA teammate Katie Bargreen was an All-American this year.
"We’re sending off lots of men and women to row at the collegiate level," Lacey said. "If Washington’s going to be known for rowing, that’s a feather in our cap."
Foster, who set the U.S. women’s indoor 2,000-meter ergometer record in February and then broke her own record in June, participated on the silver medal-winning U.S. national team at the World Junior Championships in Schinias, Greece, last August. Joining her on the national team was former ERA teammate Courtney Plitt, who now rows at the University of Washington.
Foster, who next month will represent the U.S. national team at the Indoor Rowing World Championships in Paris, is quick to discount her own considerable skills in favor of the team.
"We rely on each other completely," Foster said. "Everyone has to be giving everything they’ve got."
Her ERA coach echoed that sentiment.
"When you surrender everything to the common goal, you become a part of the boat," Lacey said. "That’s when as a crew the boat can take off."
Continued success has afforded ERA recognition among the old guard programs from Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia and strengthened its friendly rivalry with Seattle-based Green Lake Crew. Still, there are those who occasionally scratch their heads in wonder.
"Everett Rowing was really a presence at nationals" said Karla Quast, Parent Booster club president for the ERA junior program. "But, some people were saying, ‘Where’s Everett, is that near Boston?’"
Not quite. But it’s closing fast.
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