Message from Rolf Linder, UCRAF President
UC Rowing Alumni & Friends,
We have a great deal to be thankful for this Thanksgiving ‘23 season including the participation and support we receive from you – our athletes & alumni. Other things on the list are the health and competitiveness of the team itself, the amazing time we had at our 40th - yes 40th - reunion party and celebration of our fantastic alumni through a story on Kristin Vanderhey Shaw, a freelance writer of some note.
To read the complete version of these and other stories in this edition of the UCRAF newsletter please scroll through the stories below. Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!
Rolf Linder, President, UCRAF
Fall team update
We raced at Head of the Ohio (Pittsburg) and Speakmon Memorial Regatta (Columbus) with many boats finishing on the podium leading up to the challenge of Head of the Chattahoochee (Chattanooga) where in many boat classes we moved up in the standings to secure guaranteed entries for fall 2024. Additionally at each of our regattas parents have taken the initiative to provide chuckwagon meals for the athletes to allow them to more fully focus on their racing. This started 2 years ago with Paula and Brad Mularcik (parents of current UCRC President Frank Mularcik) and the effort has been joined by other parents whom we are thankful for! We had a strong showing at the UC Rowing 40th Anniversary Celebration and after a successful captains cup (3 eights on the water) we have one more week before heading indoors for winter training.
Fundraising Starts this Tuesday, 11/28, Giving Tuesday!
UC Rowing has made tremendous progress this past year! A bigger team and a better dock & ramp set-up at our rowing site, and a first-ever 40th year Anniversary party celebration in October ... plus more to come this spring! However, none of this progress is possible without the support of our friends, families, and alumni. Since becoming a 501(c)3 organization in 2021 UCRAF has been able to increase donations and provide tax benefits for donors.
Unlike the past two years, we will keep the fundraiser open through the end of December. You might notice a slightly different look & feel to our fundraising process -- we have changed processing platforms to allow you, our donors more control and visibility over your gifts. As you decide how to support UCRAF please consider making your donation a recurring donation, which allows us to maintain our mission through providing a more consistent income stream.
Funds raised by UCRAF directly support UC Rowing and improvements at the rowing site. Your donations make a difference and allow us to:
- Serve up to 75 youth, collegiate & adult rowers daily - members of our 2 resident teams - UC Rowing & Queen City Watersports Center
- Maintain a large 6 acre rowing site with immediate access to 2 major waterways - the Little Miami & the Ohio Rivers - fully owned & operated by UCRAF
- Remain 100% volunteer funded, open 7 days a week from March 1 - December 1
Along the way don’t forget to check and see if your donations can be matched by your employer and ask if your employer has a donation nomination program! Many employers do and use it as a way to make their yearly charitable contributions. Even if UCRAF doesn't come up in the list of current matching opportunities with your employer, reach out and ask if UCRAF can be added to the list. We can easily provide any information you need to assist in the process - and the outcome will be invaluable to us!
We're here today because of the hard work of our clients & athletes and because of donors like you. Let's keep it going and remember to mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 28 and leave the start pulling into a strong giving season!
Please join us during Giving Tuesday and donate by clicking here!!40th Reunion celebration with Photos
On October 14th alumni gathered and celebrated a milestone -- UC Rowing's 40th anniversary. This event was held at Uptown Arts in downtown Cincinnati. Almost 100 alumni, friends and the current Team gathered to have a good time, see old friends, and meet new ones. We also honored Kelly Salchow MacArthur '96 for her "Outstanding Achievement in Sport" honor presented by the University. Her 1994 National Champion boatmates Jen Axe Petersen, Katie Nolan, Laura Cook Silsbee, Tara Light and Coach Tim Royalty were also on hand to enjoy the good times. Alumni heard brief presentations by UCRC Head Coach Brian Pack and UCRAF President Rolf Linder. Thanks to everyone who joined us and we look forward to our 50th on Saturday, October 15, 2033! Click here for more photos.
Alumni Interview with Kristen Vanderhey Shaw, BA Communication Arts '93 - check out a recent article of hers on Edmunds.com
When did you finish your rowing career and what were your favorite moments in that journey?
Before I even arrived at the University of Cincinnati, the gym owner where I worked out in high school told me that UC had a great rowing team and I should check it out. I didn't know anything about rowing at all and had never even seen a boat, but the power of his suggestion stuck with me, and I showed up for a meeting. In short order, I was hooked on the sport and rowed on the team from 1989 to 1993, when I graduated.
Looking back, I'm not sure how I survived college getting up at 5 AM every day, getting very little sleep (ha). It was all worth it, because I learned a lot about myself and how far I could push my brain and my body. It was my first time as a true athlete and it was addictive, getting stronger and competing hard. Some of the women and men I rowed with became like family, and one year I lived in the "Oar House" with 14 other rowers and 2 rower-adjacent friends. We had so much fun cooking together, going to practice, and mountain biking together on the weekends during the off-season. It was a pretty special time.
The best competitive moment was during my senior year, when my four won a gold medal in Atlanta on the Chattahoochee. With Kelly at stroke, Laura and Jen in the middle, Katie as coxswain, and me holding up the bow, we rowed harder than ever before and we were so proud of ourselves and what we had accomplished. Tim Royalty was our coach then, and he was an incredible supporter and teacher.
What have you been up to since you stopped rowing?
Since I left Cincinnati, I moved to Kentucky, then Georgia, and now Austin, Texas. The first 20 years of my career were focused on marketing and public relations in the telecom and technology sector, and 10 years ago I left corporate life to pursue my dream as a freelance writer. Now, I'm a freelance journalist focused on cars and airports, with bylines at Popular Science, Edmunds, US News and World Report, Motor1, Car and Driver, Airport Improvement, and more. I get to test drive unbelievably cool cars and it's absolutely a dream.
Have you stayed in touch with any of your former teammates from your days as a UC Rower?
Yes! Several of us are connected online from my rowing days and I follow their lives from afar most of the time, but occasionally I get to see one of them in person. Just this past June, my family and I were vacationing in Oregon and I got to reconnect with Reed Gillette, who was a year behind me on the team.
When you're not working, how do you stay active, and do you ever get back in a boat?
I haven't been in a boat in quite some time, but we have paddle boards and also spend time hiking, walking, and lifting weights regularly.
Are there any fun details about your family that you would be willing to share?
My husband Will was born in Austin and our teenage son is a sixth-generation Texan. Will's parents own land out in the western part of Texas and we like to explore the area. Our son is almost 14 now and plays for a traveling baseball team, so the weekends are pretty busy.
How did rowing shape who you are and what your life is today?
Rowing shaped my entire college experience, from committing to practice to renting houses with some of my teammates to celebrating my 21st birthday at winter training. I had never been an athlete before, and it gave me an identity that helped me hone my character and taught me how capable I really was. When I'm struggling with something, I often remember what Coach Royalty would say to us before a race or erg test: You can do anything in six minutes. That applies to everything from 30 seconds to several days, and I tap into that inner strength.
What did you study at UC, do you use your degree in your professional life?
I was a Communication Arts major, and as a writer and journalist I use my degree every day! I especially remember my non-verbal communications class; learning how to read people even when they're not saying a word has been invaluable.
How have you seen the sport change - are the changes for the better or worse?
It has been gratifying to me to see more women enter the sport and more people overall trying it out. Rowing is such an elegant, powerful sport and every time I see a scull on a body of water, it reminds me of just how much it meant to me.
