Give Competitive Rowing a Try!

As a part of the 2016 ONE BOOK – ONE COMMUNITY reading initiative exploring the themes from THE BOYS IN THE BOAT by Daniel James Brown, the Larchmont Public Library will host an Olympic rowing demonstration featuring champion rowers Molly Colombo and Benita Douglas and their coach Dmitri Vladov.

Time: Tuesday, April 21 at 6:30pm

Location: Larchmont Public Library

No reservations required

Its not only boys who can be in boats. Proof of that will occur when rowers Molly Colombo, Benita Douglas and their coach, Dmitri Vlasov, visit the Larchmont Public Library. As an added bonus, Dmitri Vladov will bring two rowing machines or Ergs as rowers call them. Molly and Benita will demonstrate proper rowing form both individually and as a team. After that, the floor is open for questions and the Ergs for demonstration. Give the Ergs a try to see what the sport feels like. Bear in mind that rowing, while strenuous, is in no way injurious to your health. Be sure to wear pants.

Molly Colombo took up sculling (rowing) a decade ago. She rows (skulls) with a small team of "masters" (adult) and junior scullers in singles, doubles and quads. The team competes in sprint races of 1000 meters and 2000 meters in the spring and summer and in head races in the fall. Molly has rowed in the Head of the Charles River in Boston in the single, double and quad races a number of times. She rows almost every day when weather permits and in the winter months Molly trains on the erg and cross-country skis when possible.

Benita Douglas, who hails from Australia and New Zealand, cycled for Team New Zealand on the international level for 3 years. A move to Greenwich, CT, with her husband and three young children led her to sculling four years ago. She has competed in a number of events including Masters Nationals and the Head of the Charles. Benita trained as a medical doctor specializing in sports medicine, an expertise greatly valued by her teammates.

Dmitri Vladon has been a rowing and sculling coach for 17 years. Dmitri began sculling in his native Ukraine and competed nationally and internationally. He coaches on the junior, masters and collegiate level from beginners to elite rowers. He started his rowing team V-Sculls in 2007 where the focus is on taking his athletes to compete at the junior national and international level and to facilitate their recruitment by top University rowing programs including Harvard, Princeton, Brown, University of Washington and Cal Berkley. Currently he is coaching Brunswick school crew and at V-Sculls in Old Greenwich.

For more information about this program or any of the programs at the Larchmont Public Library, visit www.larchmontlibrary.org.