Local rowers qualify for Junior World Championships

Not all eyes are on Rio this summer. The 2016 World Rowing Junior Championships will take place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on Aug 21- 28, and Conor Donadio and Jeffrey Schlyer will be representing the US in the Jr Men’s Double Sculls. Both attend NMHS where Jeffrey will be a junior in the fall and Conor will be a senior.

The duo was paired by their coach Guenter Beutter last spring, and they were successful from their first race, placing 2nd at the Saratoga Invitational. In preparation for the World Championships, they are typically training twice a day, sometimes with a third workout . During the school year the pair met at 5:30 a.m. before school beginning in May to get in an extra workout. In June at US Rowing Youth National Championships the boys came 2nd and have been getting faster ever since.

GMS Rowing Center Coach Guenter Beutter said: "This is really special because this is the first GMS boat to qualify at the World level with rowers all from our own program and residents of New Milford. Conor started rowing with us when he was in 6th grade and Jeffery started in 8th grade.”

Cicely Madden, winner of the Under 23 Women’s Single Sculls trial will also be coached by GMS’s Beutter. Cicely is based in Boston, will be a junior at Brown University in the fall, and rows out of Cambridge Boat Club in Boston. A veteran of international competition, Madden won a silver medal in the Jr Women’s Quadruple Sculls at Jr World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 2012, and Trakai, Lithuania, in 2013, also coached by Guenter Beutter.

While other countries' national teams and athletes receive funding from government and lottery programs, US rowing athletes at the junior level are required to raise money and pay their own way. The cost of travel, accommodations, coaching, equipment rental, and regatta fees total $6000 per athlete, and this financial burden is falling on the athletes and their families. A Fundraising Campaign is now underway and includes direct donation to Northeast High Performance Rowing Foundation (NEHPRF), a 501c3, where donors can make a tax deductible donation. Also, on Saturday, July 30th, there will be a ‘Meet and Greet’ fundraiser with Conor and Jeffrey at Northville Market on Rt. 202 from 10:30 a.m. -5:30 p.m. The boys will be providing an updated fundraising status and raising money on the GMS Facebook Page. To make a tax deductible donation to support the boys, please visit www.nehprowing.org