2019 Head of the Estuary

Oakland Strokes was excited to host the annual Head of the Estuary Regatta this past Saturday October 10, 2019. The regatta included junior and masters crews from throughout the Bay Area.

The Park St. Bridge served as the start and finish line, with the racecourse circumnavigating Coast Guard Island.

The Oakland Estuary waterway is currently home to some of the best junior rowing programs in the country, but in a previous era the UC Berkeley Men’s Rowing crews that represented the USA in the 1928, 1932, and 1948 also trained here on the Estuary. The USA National Team Training Center has now returned to the Estuary this past year - the men’s 2020 Olympic team is currently training out of the Rogers Rowing Center in Oakland.

Results available on HereNow

Photos of the event can be seen here, here and here.

Thank you to all of our competitors and volunteers!

2019 San Diego Crew Classic

Oakland Strokes traveled to sunny San Diego to race at the annual San Diego Crew Classic! Regarded by many as the first major regatta of the year, the San Diego Crew Classic brings together thousands of athletes from more than 100 universities, clubs and high school programs from across the United States to participate in this premier rowing event. The Strokes sent five Varsity and two Novice crews south to San Diego to compete.

Results include 3rd place finishes in the Men’s Novice 8+ and Women’s Lightweight 8+, 4th place finishes in the Women’s Varsity 8+, Men’s JV8+, and Men’s Lightweight 8+, a 7th place finish in the Men’s Varsity 8+ and 8th place finish in the Women’s Novice 8+.

You can find results from the event here and pictures here.

Our varsity and novice squads also raced on our home waters on the Oakland Estuary at the 510 Sprints against various local teams including Artemis and St. Ignatius.

You can find results from 510 Sprints here.

2019 Shamrock Regatta

The 2019 Shamrock Regatta took place March 16-17th at Redwood Shores for some head to head racing on one of the premier race courses on the west coast. 

You can find results on HereNow and photos from the event here.

2019 Battle of the Bay

The 2019 Battle of the Bay took place on the Oakland Estuary with crews racing from Marin, Pacific and St. Ignatius.

You can view results on HereNow.

And you can find photos from the event here:

Kevin Layer’s Photos

Shirley DeFrancisci’s Photos

Chiara Seidl’s Photos

Oakland Strokes kicks off the 2019 Racing Season at Faultline Faceoff

Oakland Strokes kicked off its 2019 racing season by hosting the 2-day Faultline Faceoff at San Pablo Reservoir on February 23-24th. With teams representing the entire Southwest region, Faultline Faceoff has grown into one of the largest junior regattas on the west coast! A big thank you to all of our volunteers who helped make this event successful!

Results are on HereNow

A big thank you to our parents who took great photos from the weekend:

Kevin Layer's Photos

Shirley DFrancisci's photos

Jeff Pruss's Photos

Strokes Travel to Seattle and Chattanooga!

Both the men’s and women’s teams traveled this past weekend to two of the larger head races in the country — the men raced at Head of the Lake in Seattle, WA and the women raced at Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, TN.

The men raced in the Men’s Jr 8+ event and Boy’s U17 8+ events, placing 2nd and 3rd in the Jr 8+ and 3rd in the U17 8+. You can see results on RegattaCentral here and here. Check out pictures from the event here.

The women entered a number of events over the weekend at Head of the Hooch, including 2 Women’s Youth 8+s, 2 Women’s Youth 4+s, a Women’s Lightweight 8+, and a Women’s Lightweight 4+, with the Lightweight 8+ winning Gold! You can see all results over on HereNow.

Congratulations to both of our teams on some great racing in fast fields!

Oakland Strokes Athletes Excel at Prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta

For High School rowers, there is nothing quite like racing at the Head of the Charles regatta.  Held on the same stretch of the Charles River in Boston every Fall since 1965, the Head of the Charles regatta is the largest event in the world. This year the two day regatta was held on October 20th and 21st amidst brisk temperatures and swirling winds. Despite the weather, it attracts Olympians, world champions and international athletes of all ages. As noted by’ Men’s Head Coach Brian de Regt, the regatta is “our only opportunity to race against the best schools and junior clubs from around the world. The course is challenging both in distance and layout.”

Rowing to the start line under one of the seven bridges on the course (photo credit: Amber Gates)

Many crews are excited just to have the chance to row at the Head of the Charles.  However, for the past several years the youth rowers from the Oakland Strokes have been competing for victories in the Youth Eight event.  In a race where the finishing in the top ten is considered an accomplishment, the Strokes’ four victories in the Men’s and Women’s Youth Eights the last six years puts them in rare company.

For this year’s squad Coach de Regt pulled from his 2018 National Championship crews, including from the Gold Medalist Lightweight Eight and Silver Medalist Varsity Eight.  Their experience paid off, battling the conditions to finish fifth out of the 85 entries. Despite not having the cleanest run down the course, the Strokes finished well ahead of their Californian rivals from Marin, Norcal (Redwood City), and Los Gatos.

On the course in Boston! (photo credit: Amber Gates)

The Men’s Youth 8+ boat was comprised of Ryan Tripp (Piedmont HS), Adrian Layer (Piedmont HS), John Mark Ozaeta (Miramonte HS), Matthew Boranian (Head-Royce), Richard Reid (St. Joseph Notre Dame Alameda), Andrew Simpson (Berkeley HS), Andrew Stoddard (Piedmont HS), Carter Young (San Ramon Valley HS), and coxswain Audrey Gates (Miramonte HS).

The Oakland Strokes are a rowing club for High School and Middle School students.  The Strokes have won 19 National championships since their inception in 1974.  Most Strokes athletes have never rowed before joining, and in a few years many are competing at the national level. 

Oakland Strokes is still welcoming new middle school and high school rowers for this season. Interested families can attend their Open House on November 10th from 11am-12pm at Tidewater Boathouse in Oakland and learn more at OaklandStrokes.org.

2018 Head of the Estuary

Oakland Strokes kicked off the Fall 2018 racing season yesterday with a head race on our home water with crews from North Bay, St. Ignatius, Artemis, OARS, East Bay, and Pacific all in attendance.

Results are on HereNow.

Check out photos from the event here.

Additional photos also posted here!

Strokes Excite At Nationals!

Men's Lightweight 8+ National Champions

The Oakland Strokes rowing team capped off another incredible year by winning a National Championship, two silver medals, and an 11th place finish at the Youth National Championships. Hosted by the United States Rowing Association, the event awards National Championships in nine different boat classes for high school aged men and women. This year the event was raced on Lake Natoma near Sacramento, CA on June 8-10. The Oakland Strokes rowing team brought four squads to the race, who had earned qualification through their performance at the Southwest Regional Championship in early May.

From left to right: Rocky Davis (Asst. Coach), Bert Harney (Ltwt. Coach), Ryan Tripp (8 –Piedmont HS), Jack Woll (7 – College Prep), Richard Reid (6 – St. Joseph Notre Dame), Andrew Stoddard (5 – Piedmont HS), Elizabeth “Z” Romero (cox – The Athenian School), Carter Young (4 – San Ramon Valley HS), Quinn Pelichoff (3 – Burlingame HS), Matt Schade (1 – San Ramon Valley HS), Marius Van Dongen (1 – Miramonte HS), Brian de Regt (Head Men’s Coach), Jovan Jovanovic (Asst. Coach)

The Men’s Lightweight Eight led the way for the Strokes, winning a National Championship by storming through the field. Trailing in the early moments of the race to the two time defending champions from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Miami, FL), the lightweight men out paced the field through the middle half of the race, going on to win by two seconds. Belen Jesuit came second, with Newport Aquatic Center (Newport, CA) third. Their coach Bert Harney added, “It was deeply satisfying to see the boys build speed throughout the season, and they capped it off right by taking home the National Championship.”

From left to right: Allison Ray (Women's Varsity Head Coach), Nyah Morgan (8 – Alameda HS), Betty Hosler (7 – Piedmont HS), Martha Yates (6 – Acalanes HS), Caroline Birdsall (5 – San Ramon Valley HS), Caroline Ricksen (cox – Miramonte HS), Grace Nimmo (4 – Carondelet HS ), Isabel Wang (3 – Campolindo HS), Grace MacLean (2 – Bishop O'Dowd), Olivia Harrison (1 – Alameda Science and Technology Institute), Anita Sarrett (Women's Lightweight Coach)

The Women’s Lightweight Eight, under pressure as the defending National champions, pushed the eventual winning crew from Greenwich Crew (Greenwich, CT) in the early portions of the race before holding off cross bay rivals Marin Rowing Association (Greenbrae, CA) for the silver medal. Their gutsy race earned praise from their coach Anita Sarrett, who noted, “We are so proud of our lightweight 8+, who competed today with impressive grit and tenacity!”

From left to right: Rocky Davis (Asst. Coach), Bert Harney (Ltwt. Coach), Noah Kim (8 –Independent Charter), Spencer Dettlinger (7 – San Ramon Valley HS), John Mark Ozaeta (6 – Miramonte HS), Kai Hoite (5 – Berkeley HS), Audrey Gates (cox – Miramonte HS), Matt Boranian (4 – Head-Royce), Cameron Kumagai (3 – Acalanes HS), Adrian Layer (2 – Piedmont HS), Jason Sun (1 – College Prep), Brian de Regt (Head Men’s Coach), Jovan Jovanovic (Asst. Coach)

The Men’s Varsity Eight, last year’s silver medallists, raced for the win by pushing out to the lead through the middle of the race. That effort cost them in the end as they weren’t quite able match the closing speed of Sarasota Crew (Sarasota, FL). The fight between the top two crews put Oakland in second place, 3.5 seconds clear of third place Montclair High School (Montclair, NJ). This performance was their best of the year as noted by Head Coach Brian de Regt, “This was a heck of a year. It was very satisfying to watch the boys start to believe what they were capable of, and to emerge as the fastest crew in the region and runner up in the nation.”

From left to right: Sarah Coufal (8 – Miramonte HS), Payton Fraser (7 – Campolindo HS), Kate Miles (6 – Campolindo HS), Jessica O’Reilly (5 – Campolindo HS), Sara Covin (cox – Head-Royce), Lilly Mei (4 – Dougherty Valley HS), Bridget O’Kelly (3 – College Prep), Genevieve Raushenbush (2 – Piedmont HS), Mary Kate Henderson (1 – Miramonte HS)

The Women’s Varsity Eight finished the weekend with a fifth place finish in the B final (11th overall). The eight was the first women’s varsity eight from Oakland to qualify for Nationals since 2014 and fought hard all weekend long as noted by head coach Allison Ray, “The V8 raced with composure and resilience all weekend. This crew has demonstrated the true meaning of team at every step along by the way and we are so proud of their performance."

The Oakland Strokes are a rowing club for High School and Middle School youth that serves the East Bay, Lamorinda, and San Ramon Valley areas. The National Championship won by the Men’s Lightweight Eight marks the nineteenth National Championship since their inception in 1974, with twelve championships won in the last ten years. Most of Stroke’s athletes have never rowed before joining, and in a few years many are competing at a national level. “What makes this club exceptional is the community of coaches, parents, and other supporters that have come together to enable the young men and women on our club to learn, grow, and flourish. It is truly remarkable what they can achieve with the right support!” notes Dana Hooper, Managing Director.

To find out more about the Oakland Strokes Rowing programs, visit www.oaklandstrokes.org.

Oakland Strokes Rowers Sweep to Nationals

The many hours of training, early mornings and grueling land and water workouts paid off this weekend for the Oakland Strokes Rowing Program as they put on a powerful performance to take a record breaking 18 medals, and advance a total of 7 boats to the USRowing Junior National Championships.

The Varsity Women’s team put on a commanding performance to medal in every event they entered. This performance, combined with the success of the Women’s Novice team led to a win the Women’s Team Points Trophy by a convincing margin over cross bay rivals Marin.

The Varsity Women’s Head Coach, Allison Dobb Ray, Associate Women’s Head Coach Anita Sarrett and Strength Coach Frank Clayton were clearly delighted with the outcome of the team effort.

“We are so proud of the Varsity Women and their performances over the weekend. It’s exciting to have so many boats moving onto Nationals! I am most proud of the team performance - winning the points trophy speaks to the strength of our team and the team culture the team has worked so hard to build.”

The longstanding rivalries in the Varsity Men’s programs made for some intense races, with Newport, Marin, Capital and Oakland battling it out in nail biting finishes. The determination of the Oakland Men prevailed, allowing them to qualify three of their boats for Nationals and set the stage for some fierce competition in Sacramento in June.

As the Varsity Men’s Head Coach, Brian De Regt noted, "We're very pleased with how the boys handled themselves through the season and rose to the occasion when it mattered most. Watching the JV8+ overcome regular season losses to Capital and Newport to win the Championships in a commanding fashion was the highlight, but the most gratifying part of the weekend was watching our athletes learn what can happen when they fully buy into the process, and discover just how much they're capable of."

As ‘no-cut’ program, the success of the Oakland Strokes program is a testament to the commitment and work of the coaching staff at both Novice and Varsity levels. Established in 1974, the Oakland Strokes rowing club welcomes middle and high school students from across the Bay Area. Many of the athletes who are heading their first, second - or even third - National championships had no rowing experience before joining the Strokes. Instead, most come through one of the summer ‘Learn to Row’ sessions or joined as novices in the Fall. The team heading to Nationals has an eclectic mix of athletes  - some who have rowed since middle school, while others joined the program as High School Juniors.

What unites them / what makes the program so special, according to Managing Director Dana Hooper, is the transformative power of rowing. “ Rowing rewards hard work more than any other sport I have seen. It is a sport that allows a diverse group of young men and women to come together and learn to work as one, and ultimately achieve goals that are greater than they ever could have achieved individually.”

Meanwhile, for the top athletes on the Varsity teams, the real work is just beginning. There are blisters to bind, oars to unload, and boats to launch as they start the next stage of their journey to the National stage.

Check out full results on HereNow