Letter From Our CEO - December 2025

Dear USRowing Members, 

As we close out 2025, I initially sat down to write a letter focused on all that we, collectively, have to be proud of this year. And there is a great deal; gold medals at World Championships and a thriving and engaged membership base. Our sport has exceptional coaches across our ecosystem, from learn-to-row instructors to skilled collegiate coaches building the pipeline for our Olympic and Paralympic future. We also have incredible volunteers, generous donors, and people of all ages thriving in our sport.  

Thanks to the support of our incredible community in 2025, USRowing: 

• Won four medals at the 2025 World Championships: two gold medals and two bronze medals, and won three senior medals at the 2025 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals: two gold medals and one silver medal
• Was gifted $6.5 million, the largest donation in USRowing history, amongst other major gifts and endowments  
• Donated $80,000 to 16 clubs through United We Row grants
• Introduced the Youth Beach Sprint National Championships and the International Rowing Challenge.  
• Was recognized by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the SportsTravel Awards for our United We Row Grants and RowFest 2024, respectively.
• Successfully nominated Anita DeFrantz for the USOPC Hall of Fame – cementing her legacy in the history books. 

And as I write this, I find myself thinking just as much about the broader world we are living in. About the level of discord in our country and the world. About the violence and uncertainty that young people now grow up with. About the somber necessity of teaching educators and schoolchildren how to respond in moments of danger. About increased feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression amongst our students and throughout the country. 

So what does all of this have to do with rowing? A lot.   

Many members of our community, and USRowing itself, are navigating challenges and shifting tides in an era that feels unprecedented. This brings me back to rowing. 

I feel genuine hope in what we are all a part of, through this sport. As coaches, rowers, coxswains, administrators, referees, volunteers, and supporters, we are signaling that we believe in earnest effort and in communities built on shared work, and the simple act of trying to get a little bit better each day. And for that, I feel gratitude. 

I am also deeply grateful to the donors and trustees whose generosity makes so much of this work possible, and to every member who shows up for rowing in their own way. None of this happens without you. Your passion, your engagement, and your commitment are what sustain this sport and this community. 

As we look ahead, we do so with momentum, humility, and deep appreciation for one another, in spite of, and because of our unique perspectives and experiences. 

Thank you for an exceptional 2025, and for everything you do to support rowing in the United States.  

With gratitude, 

Amanda Kraus 
Chief Executive Officer 
USRowing