Bush Students Compete at Crew Nationals

How long have you been doing crew?
Fiona: We have been doing crew for two years. We started as novices in Eighth Grade.

How did you get involved in the sport?
Izzie: My friend who is on the volleyball team at Bush wanted to try out crew. The boathouse is really close to where we live, so we thought, ‘Why not?’ 

Fiona: As novices, we went about three or four times a week, but it didn’t get serious until we joined the varsity team in the fall of freshman year.

Fiona: We row with Mount Baker Crew. We row out of a boathouse on Lake Washington run by Seattle Parks and Rec. Our teammates come from schools all over Seattle.

Fiona: We competed in youth regionals in Vancouver, Washington for the U17 category. We rowed in an eight-person boat with Izzie in the stroke seat, Audrey in the seven-seat, and Fiona in bow. To qualify for Nationals we had to get at least third place in the race and our boathouse had to approve us. Before that, we had to do time trials and we got first in time trials. After that, we moved on to finals for regionals. In order to qualify for nationals, our boathouse rules are that we needed to place first or within seven seconds of first. We came in first. 

Fiona: It was our first major competition. We got to know our team better and experience rowing in a different, more intense environment. 

Izzie: We got to celebrate our sixteenth birthdays with our teammates and coaches there. 

Fiona: As a team we supported each other; when we were racing the boys Mt. Baker team came and supported us. We weren’t able to watch them in-person but we watched them on the livestream. 

Izzie: Adapting to the heat and humidity was hard, but we all pushed each other to do our best. In the end, we came in nineteenth in the country in the Women’s U17 8s.

Fiona: We have friends at Bush that do a lot of interesting things, in and out of Bush, so they understand our commitment to crew, and our crazy schedules. Teachers are understanding and try their best to accommodate us while still holding us accountable.

Izzie: It takes a lot of planning and dedication. You have to be organized. We have had to make our schedule work during the month of training before nationals and figure out how to be gone the week before finals. Our teachers know us and understand us, and they really helped us get everything done we needed to get done. 

Izzie: I love how crew builds a connection between your teammates and you. It is a sport in which you have to work together and support each other to succeed. 

Fiona: The level of commitment that crew requires is what I have learned and built up in myself over time. 

The girls left for Nationals while I was leading students in our Middle E-Week trip to Thailand. It was wild to have my 15-year-old daughters traveling on their own, with their team, to Florida to compete on the national level. I got pictures and updates over WhatsApp and I would wake up early to talk to them on the phone. The girls have done two-week rafting and climbing trips with Bush before, and they gained a great deal of confidence with managing themselves on their own in the world. It’s amazing to watch your kids go out into the world and do things on their own (well, with their twin sister, true).

Crew practices in the fall and spring for six days a week, two-and-a-half hours per practice. In order to be able to do this and to dedicate the time, focus, and energy that they want to give to their Upper School work, they have had to learn to be very organized. They also have been able to connect with girls from schools around Seattle as well as form deeper friendships with their Bush teammates. 

I first became aware of crew through teaching students at Bush who participated in crew at various boathouses around the city. I loved the dedication, spirit, focus, and fun that all of those students showed.

 

One thing I have really appreciated about the girls experience of crew and Bush is that even though they dedicate a lot of time to crew, because of all of the experiential aspects of the Upper School, like E-lectives and Cascades and clubs, the girls are still about to take part in filmmaking, become WFR certified, play the drums, do Fire Arts, and participate in Jewish Affinity group and more. 

The real benefits though are that they are that they are happy, feel connected, and are that accomplished kind of tired. I am so proud of them.