Members

	Deb Chute Deb spent her childhood and early adult years as an anglophile in the Midwest, longingly watching rowing on the Thames and Rob Lowe in Oxford Blues. However, it was difficult to row in corn and soybean fields so she moved to Boston and watched the crews row on the Charles. In 1999, she moved to Providence, RI and watched the Brown crews on the Seekonk. Finally, she found the Narragansett Boat club, and after flipping the wherry she tried out for the NBC team in 2001 and has been a rowing fool ever since.
	Gretchen Ellsworth Gretchen learned about crew when her two sons began rowing in the 90’s at Wilson High School in DC. Once she finally tried it herself, she never looked back. When she retired from the Smithsonian Institute she made a beeline for the Potomac River, where she met Sally O’Connor. Since 1996, she has rowed with Potomac Boat Club in DC and races whenever she has a chance. Now, even her husband rows. To her, Avalon is a gift for women who want to race more than their clubs can offer.
	Cathy Holdorf Cathy Holdorf lives with her husband, Popper (great name) and several pets, in Corvallis, Oregon where they raised their four kids to hopefully responsible adulthood. She is co-owner with her sister of Sibling Revelry (a great store for clothes and gifts) and spends all of her spare time rowing and erging. What, erging? She is a member of Corvallis Rowing Club, Avalon, and Masters Coaching. She is hoping to be inducted into the Erging Hull of Dames, which is currently under construction in Oregon.
	Eli Ingraham Eli began rowing in 1976 and is in a quandry as to why her erg scores don’t show it. She was coached at Wellesley by Mayrene Earle, then rowed in Connecticut with Farmington Valley, and in Toronto with the Argonauts, before returning to Boston in 2000, where she joined Cambridge Boat Club. She fondly recalls her oar jumping out of its lock to a 90o angle off the start of a windy race with Sally. Always safety first, Sally insisted the crew row even harder while Eli secured her oar at race speed. Ah, the times we’ve had.
photo not available	C Linsure
	Sally Mander Sally Mander, founding priestess of Avalon, is a kamikaze coxswain and rower with occasional delusions of grandeur. She often lurks in dark corners of bridges and under wet rocks with other nefarious creatures. She has been graced with a touch of the blarney, which may explain her outlandish rowing stories as well as her inability to navigate off the buoy line. She is constantly in search of the perfect drive, a slow slide, and her laptop.
	Jeanette Millard Jeanette, known as “Big Tuna” after a particularly graceful water exit, has rowed for five years with WeCanRow in Boston. She rowed in Avalon's first official race behind stroke Sally O'Connor, whose slide was so slow, it is rumored the crew fell asleep before each catch. Jeanette is an organization development consultant and is attributed with insisting that the Avalon logo have feet.
	Sheilagh A. Mulderig Better known by her initials, SAM rows in Boston on the Charles River. Her rowing career started after she turned 50 when competitive swimming just wasn’t enough. She considers rowing the consummate team sport and loves being part of something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Early on she earned the prestigious ROHO title (any seat, any boat, any time) and will pretty much go anywhere for a “good row.” SAM rowed with Avalon at its inception, and continues to row with Avalon whenever possible.
	Pat Shumate Pat Shumate began rowing in 1992 at the Detroit Boat Club. Currently she is a member of the Ann Arbor Rowing Club. She has actively sought camps and clinics every year to improve her skills. Pat loves the social aspect of being part of a team, and pushing her body to its limit, which includes way more than just beer curls, of course. She feels there is great reward in training and racing.
photo not available	Hope Wilkinson

Avalon is an inclusive virtual rowing club for master’s women who bring heart, humor, spirit and commitment to the line, as well as a wide range of rowing skills and experience. We prefer that you actually know how to feather, but that hasn't made it into our official rules yet.

We’re a collection of women who want to row, but are unable to compete in regattas with our respective clubs for various reasons. We work hard and race to win, but we recognize that not all victories are rewarded with medals. Keeping our connection to the love and pleasure of rowing, and to team camaraderie, is more important to us. Anyone who wants to race with us is considered an athlete and treated with respect.

Sometimes it leads to moments of brilliance, sometimes it leads to moments we will never let you forget. But it’s always good fun and makes for great legends, as it should in Avalon.

Avalon membership provides support for the vision and mission of Avalon and funds the expansion of competitive opportunities to a wide range of masters rowers. Member dues also ensure our sustainability and eligibility to race in regattas in the US and abroad.

If you are interested in joining Avalon, please download and follow the instructions on the documents at the links below:

Membership Information

Member Profile Sheet

For additional questions, please contact our Membership Maven:

membership@avalonrowingclub.com

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Avalon Rowing Club

Members