On Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 the Tulsa Youth Rowing Association competed in the SouthWest Ergometer Amateur Tournament held in Dallas, TX. This indoor rowing event features events for different age and weight categories. Individual athletes race two thousand meters on Concept2 rowing machines and try to record the fastest time possible in their age and experience categories.
Athlete Nadia Fernandez (BTW) placed 2nd in the Women’s Junior Coxswain event in a time of 8:50.0.
“If someone told me that I would row a personal best in my race, I would not have believed them, let alone get second place,” said Fernandez of her race time.
Fernandez initially became involved with TYRA as a member of the recreational gROWth program. This program allows student-athletes to try the sport for a couple of days a week while balancing other academic and extracurricular activities.
Emma Reynolds also placed well in the Women’s Junior event posting a personal best time of 7:36.2. This effort placed Reynolds 10th in a very competitive field. Her time was the third fastest time for a female student-athlete in club history.
TYRA Head Coach Tamara Clayton was pleased with the overall team effort.
“I am very proud of all of our athletes. Over three-quarters of our team not only posted personal best times, but they also finished in the top half of their events. With winter training coming to an end, it’s rewarding to know that the work we put in ultimately shows in the end. These results are an exciting start for our spring season, and I look forward to our continual growth in the months to come.”
The next race on the TYRA event calendar will be the OKC Erg Challenge on Feb 16th. The club’s spring gROWth program will commence on February 28th.
TYRA is a non-profit organization that serves Tulsa and surrounding areas by providing access to rowing activities. For more information on joining or supporting the club, please contact Head Coach Tamara Clayton at coacht@okrowing.org.
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