In high school rowing seemed daunting and inaccessible. Only ever picked as a goalie in netball for my height, I had decided that team sports, and sport in general, wasn’t for me by age 13 or 14. When the opportunity came around to try for the rowing squad, I went because my friends were going, and I had nothing better to do that lunchtime. From that day, I trained on and off the water almost every day until I left school and later relocated to Australia. I went off and tried some other things, including many ill-fated surfing attempts (why is it so hard to stand up??), climbing and hiking, but I missed having a structure to my training, and a community to support me.
I rediscovered rowing at Richmond RC via my uni three years ago, using it as relief from my hectic degree. At first I took it pretty easy, training a few times a week at most, not attending competitions. Over time I gained more strength and fitness which coincided with a new wave of students joining the club. Unfortunately, covid locked us all indoors, during which time I trained daily. Yes, I was definitely one of those people doing bicep curls with 2L bottles of milk – my family ended up drinking a lot of milk! When we emerged from our houses at the end of 2020, I was raring to go, jumping straight into a fast-paced preparation for the regatta season which our coaches guided us through, and ended with my first ever competition medal.
Meet our Team: Dario Sportelli
Meet our Team! We're very lucky to have Dario on board with us! He's looking forward to getting back on the water soon with our Learn to Row courses and private lessons at our Melbourne location! Read about his journey here. I started rowing when I was 12, following...
Meet Our Team: Will Golding
Like so many people in our sport, Will didn't start out as a rower. Rather, he played football (soccer) and rugby - "not especially well," as he tells it - in addition to running cross country. After his first year at the University of East London he came to the...
TopRow New York: introducing Milan Kamphuis
Milan Kamphuis is TopRow New York’s Deputy Program Director, bringing a wealth of positive energy and creative solutions to our programs. We thought we’d help you get to know him. Milan began his athletic pursuits as a cyclist from ages 12 - 21. While he was...