News | Asheville Youth Rowing

Congratulations To Coach Rudy

Posted on August 4, 2021 |

Congratulations to Coach Rudy Ryback who has been named Co-Head Coach along side Coach Jack Gartner. Rudy is entering his 7th year with AYRA.

On Sunday, July 18, Claire Carver-Ritter, 17, and a member of Asheville Youth Rowing Association (AYRA) won Gold at USRowing Summer National Championships (formerly called Club Nationals) in the Women’s U23 quad.

Claire attended the OKC High Performance Camp in Oklahoma after having been selected to attend by USRowing. Attendees at that camp competed at the Summer Nationals in Camden, New Jersey against other youth from all over the United States. Claire, who is 17, rowed in the U23 quad (each rower holds two oars) which means that she was competing against other rowers who were not older than 22 years of age.

In June of this year, Claire also competed at USRowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota, Florida where she won the C Final in the Woman’s 1 Varsity Four. At Youth Nationals, crews competed against other crews from all over the United States.

AYRA’s Men’s U17 4 won Gold at USRowing Youth Nationals on June 12. That boat, composed of youth who are all under the age of 17, won the A Final with a time of 6:58 minutes, a full 8 seconds faster than any other boat in the Final. The crew is composed of Charlotte Fisher, coxswain, Dylan Paull, stroke, Sam Pruitt, 3 seat, James Lilly, 2 seat and Luca Antonescu, bow.

Asheville Youth Rowing at USRowing Youth Nationals

Posted on June 12, 2021 |

Asheville Youth Rowing Association’s Men’s (AYRA) U17 4 won Gold at USRowing Youth Nationals on Saturday morning, June 12. This boat, composed of youth who are all under the age of 17, won the A Final with a time of 6:58 minutes, a full 8 seconds faster than any other boat in the Final. The crew is composed of Charlotte Fisher, coxswain, Dylan Paull, stroke, Sam Pruitt, 3 seat, James Lilly, 2 seat and Luca Antonescu, bow. The Men’s U17 4 event began on Thursday with 23 entries from rowing programs all over the United States. The AYRA Men’s U17 4 had the fastest time out of all 23 boats in the time trial. On Friday, the AYRA boat had the fastest time in both Semifinals qualifying them for the A Final on Saturday where, again they had the fastest time.

AYRA took four boats to USRowing Nationals this year. Three of the four qualified at USRowing Southeast Regionals by winning Gold in the Men’s and Women’s U17 4s and Bronze in the Women’s 1 Varsity 4. The AYRA Men’s 1 Varsity 4 won a bid to compete.

AYRA’s Women’s 1 Varsity 4 was the winner of the C Final with a time of 7:34.2 minutes, a full 3 seconds ahead of the next boat. This finish makes them the 13th fastest boat in the United States for this event. The crew is composed of Riley Minor, coxswain, Maddie Scarlett, stroke, Mackenzie Dinga, 3 seat, Claire Carver-Ritter, 2 seat and Afton Rogers, bow. 33 boats were entered in this event.

AYRA’s Men’s 1 Varsity 4 came in seventh in the C Final with a time of 6:54.2 making them the 19th fastest boat in the United States for this event. The crew is composed of Sarah Sessions, coxswain, Munroe Robinson, stroke, Nick Oursler, 3 seat, Brent Watson, 2 seat and Graham Atherton, bow. 48 boats were entered in this event.

And in the last event for AYRA, the Women’s U17 4 won the C Final with a time of 8:07.1, running a full second ahead of the next fastest boat. This makes them the 13th fastest boat in the United States for this event. The crew is composed of Aela Altman-Jacobs, coxswain, Amelia O’Halloran, stroke seat, Rowan Minor, 3 seat, Maddie Halfacre, 2 seat and Louise Coates, bow. This event started with 21 boats on Thursday.