Last Thursday, the fifth Annual Golden Oars Awards Dinner was held at the New York Athletic Club. Almost 350 members of the rowing community attended the dinner, which was hosted by USRowing and the National Rowing Foundation (NRF). The dinner was followed by a live auction, which served to raise funds for the NRF’s support of the national teams and America Rows, the latter ‘a program dedicated to changing the lives of urban youth and those with disabilities by providing rowing as an opportunity for all’.

At the event, seven USRowing Awards of Excellence were presented. The USRowing Medal recipient Steve Gladstone, Yale University head coach, said ‘I feel extraordinarily blessed to have found an endeavor that has captured my heart, soul and mind. We’re all in this together—the women, the men—this is what we do. It’s what we love. Rowing has captured our lives and informed our values. It’s a wonderful thing,’ reported Allison Müller in an article on the USRowing’s website.

2015 USRowing Awards of Excellence
USRowing Medal – Steve Gladstone
USRowing Male Athlete of the Year – Seth Weil
USRowing Female Athlete of the Year – Megan Kalmoe
Jack Franklin Lifetime Achievement Award – Peter Zandbergen
Jack Kelly Award – Ginny Gilder
Anita DeFrantz Award – Judd Anderson
Isabel Bohn Award – Ellen Minzner