Letter From Our CEO - October 2025

Dear USRowing Members, 

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in person at the Head of the Charles, which a colleague here called “the most wonderful time of the rowing year,” and it’s so true! It’s such a joyful (sometimes warm, sometimes freezing, but always wonderful) gathering of old and new rowing friends, where old teammates can pick up right where they left off (at least on land; the same does not go for getting into boats, so mind your backs, everyone!). 

 I was recently speaking to an old rowing acquaintance I’ve known for a couple of decades but hadn’t seen for a year or so. He exclaimed, “Things seem pretty good at USRowing!” and I did a mental scan of the organization and my 5 years in this role. We just won four medals at the World Championships, membership has fully recovered (and grown) since COVID, we’re giving out grants and scholarships to support grassroots programs, the staff is great, the USRowing Foundation is thriving with fundraising, and we’re making our way to a stronger place with our stakeholder groups. This piece is going to take time, but I know we’re headed in the right direction. It felt good to say, “Yes, in fact, things are going well at USRowing.” On the subway ride home, I was thinking about the “why.” Things are going well because of our community—because of all of you. Our community is filled with rowers, people who are smart and tenacious and know how to get stuff done. Together. It’s not a huge surprise that things are moving in this direction. 

One example I want to point to is the extraordinary donation made by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss for the LA 2028 quad which was announced this month. They are donating $6.5 million: $4 million to the national team and $2.5 million toward a boathouse renovation and expansion for the team in New Jersey. The brothers were high school rowers who then rowed at Harvard University and later for the Olympic team. Now they are rowing alumni giving back in a huge way. They believe in the progress we’ve made and what lies ahead for our athletes, and their donation is going straight toward supporting our athletes in their pursuit to be the best in the world.  

This kind of contribution is transformational for us because USRowing, like all Olympic and Paralympic governing bodies in the United States, we do not receive a dollar of government funding. Unlike our top competition, who receive enormous support from their governments, we rely on funding from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for less than half of our national team budget, and the rest is all raised through donations and corporate partners. When we say we couldn’t do this without generous donations, we really mean it. 

Where does the money go? It goes toward paying for coaches, travel (picture 50+ really tall athletes on a plane to Europe; it’s not cheap or comfortable with those long legs), feeding athletes, housing them, athlete stipends, physical therapists, equipment, and more. I wanted to take an extra moment to recognize and thank these very special national team alumni for their generosity. I also want to thank all of you who give. It doesn’t have to be in millions to be meaningful. If we all give what we can, we will be unstoppable come LA 2028. 

Speaking of which, if you’re interested in supporting our national team and having a fun night out, please consider a trip to New York City for our annual Golden Oars event, where you’ll get to meet Olympians and support the team. If you’d like to meet our athletes but not join for the dinner, just come to the open-bar (21+) after-party at the venue. It’s called the Coxswain Toss, but there will be no water to be tossed in, just some food, drinks, and dancing! Details are here.

Lastly, I had the pleasure of attending my friend Arshay Cooper’s book launch in New York this week. Run, don’t walk, to get a copy of his newly released Let Me Be Real With You. Yes, that was a shameless plug, but I promise this inspirational collection of his stories and lessons is worth it. 

Thank you for all you do for the sport of rowing as rowers, coxswains, coaches, referees, volunteers, administrators, and fans. You are what makes our sport so strong. 

Warmly, 
 
 Amanda