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Published May 16th, 2018
Oakland Strokes sweep to nationals
Submitted by Rachel Yates
Oakland Strokes Men's Junior Varsity 8+ cross the finish line to secure Gold Photos provided

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 seven 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 of 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. "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," Dobb Ray said.
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 Oakland Men qualified 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 ... 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 a '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. 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, according to managing director Dana Hooper, is the transformative power of rowing. "Rowing ... 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."

Oakland Strokes Women's Team dominate the medal podium with 5 Golds, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze medals, winning the overall Team Points Trophy.
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