2021 World Rowing Junior Championships August 11-15, 2021 Plovdiv, Bulgaria Press Kit On-site Contact: Brett Johnson, [email protected], 317-201-5394 (c) USRowing Senior Director, Programs & Communications 1 About the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships The 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships will be held August 1-15 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The event offers international racing in 14 different events for junior men and women including the men’s and women’s single sculls, double sculls, quadruple sculls, pair, four, four with coxswain, and eight. The World Rowing Junior Championships showcases the highest level of competition for under 19 athletes in the sport of rowing. World Rowing Website: https://worldrowing.com/event/2021-world-rowing-junior-championships LOC Website: http://www.wrjch2021.com/ About the Venue The course, located in Plovdiv, is an artificial canal designed and constructed specifically to host water sport events. The 2300m long venue is lined with natural forests, offering equal and fair rowing conditions to all competitors. Additionally, to enhance rowing conditions on the water, the course runs East/West, parallel to the direction of prevailing winds. A walkway lines the duration of the course with a Sports Club at the eastern most end of the waterway. Additionally, several storefronts and restaurants populate the length of the course. Event Address Plovdiv Canoe and Rowing Centre 4002 Septemvri, Bulgaria 2 Event list JM1x Junior Men's Single Sculls JW1x Junior Women's Single Sculls JM2- Junior Men's Pair JW2- Junior Women's Pair JM2x Junior Men's Double Sculls JW2x Junior Women's Double Sculls JM4- Junior Men's Four JW4- Junior Women's Four JM4+ Junior Men's Four with Coxswain JW4+ Junior Women's Four with Coxswain JM4x Junior Men's Quadruple Sculls JW4x Junior Women's Quadruple Sculls JM8+ Junior Men's Eight JW8+ Junior Women's Eight General Schedule of Events Wednesday, August 11 Heats Thursday, August 12 Heats, Repechages Friday, August 13 Repechages, Quarterfinals Saturday, August 14 Semifinals A/B, C/D and E/F; Finals C, D and F Saturday, August 15 Finals A and B The most up-to-date schedule and heat sheets can be viewed at https://worldrowing.com/event/2021-world-rowing-junior-championships Event Press Releases The most up-to-date event information is available at https://worldrowing.com/event/2021-world-rowing-junior-championships. Press releases and a limited selection of event photos for editorial use are available by contacting the USRowing Communications Department. To be placed on USRowing’s media distribution list, please email [email protected]. 3 Social Media The official account of USRowing is @USRowing. The official hashtags for the event is #WRJChamps. USRowing will provide updates and short commentary via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Athletes, fans and media are encouraged to send messages using the official hashtag. How to Follow the Event 1. Press releases, athlete bios, photos and videos about the U.S. team will be available on www.usrowing.org. 2. Live audio commentary and live race tracker will be available for ALL races on https://worldrowing.com. 3. Follow World Rowing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for behind the scenes interviews, live updates, photos and more. 4. Join the conversation! - Use the hashtag #WRJChamps and tag @usrowing. 4 2021 USRowing Under 19 National Team Roster (Boat lineups are subject to change.) Men's Single Sculls Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), Unaffiliated Women's Single Sculls Eva Harris (Sarasota, Fla.), Sarasota Crew Men's Double Sculls Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.), Newport Sea Base Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.), Newport Sea Base Women's Double Sculls Olivia Meskan (Aledo, Ill.), Y Quad Cities Ella Saunders (North Liberty, Iowa), Y Quad Cities Men's Quadruple Sculls Andrew Manns (Cherry Hill, N.J.), South Jersey Rowing Club Timothy Parsons (Eugene, Ore.), South Eugene Rowing Club Henry Ramstad (Seattle, Wash.), Pocock Rowing Center Owen Rulyak (Seattle, Wash.), Pocock Rowing Center Women's Quadruple Sculls Meena Baher (Mountain View, Calif.), Los Gatos Rowing Club Annie Herring (Dallas, Texas), The Hockaday School Jackie Oruci (Oyster Bay, N.Y.), Oak Neck Rowing Academy Heather Schmidt (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Niskayuna Rowing Men's Pair Emmett Infante (Mountain Lakes, N.J.), Row New Jersey Wilson Morton (Summit, N.J.), Row New Jersey Women's Pair Bridget Galloway (Ridgefield, Conn.), Connecticut Boat Club Sophia Greco (Rowayton, Conn.), Connecticut Boat Club Men's Four JJ Dubois (Gainesville, Fla.), Sarasota Crew Declan Fry (Chicago, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Davis Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash.), Burton Beach Rowing Club Troy Riesenberger (Sarasota, Fla.), Sarasota Crew 5 Women's Four Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga.), St. Andrew Rowing Club Meagan Goldsmith (Ocoee, Fla.), Orlando Area Rowing Society Maeve Heneghan (Chicago, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Cillian Mullen (Batavia, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Men's Four with Coxswain Sammy Houdaigui (McLean, Va.), First Coast Rowing Samuel Kleiner (Westport, Conn.), Saugatuck Rowing Club Adam Pushner (Fairfield, Conn.), Saugatuck Rowing Club William Thayer (New Orleans, La.), St. Paul's School Liam White (Chicago, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Women's Four with Coxswain Imogen Cabot (Cambridge, Mass.), The Winsor School Jane Cox (San Diego, Calif.), San Diego Rowing Club Victoria Grieder (Windermere, Fla.), Orlando Area Rowing Society (OARS) Quincy Stone (San Francisco, Calif.), Marin Rowing Association Julia Veith (Philadelphia, Pa.), Whitemarsh Boat Club Men's Eight Adam Casler (Newport Beach, Calif.), Newport Aquatic Center Jordan Dykema (Seattle, Wash.), Pocock Rowing Center Tyler Horler (Sarasota, Fla.), Sarasota Crew Miles Hudgins (Andover, Mass.), Greater Lawrence Rowing Association Ryan Link (Burke, Va.), Gonzaga College High School Aidan Murphy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Newport Aquatic Center John Patton (Houston, Texas), Deerfield Academy Julian Thomas (New Hope, Pa.), PNRA/Mercer Stephen Warming (Newton, Mass.), Belmont Hill School Women's Eight Julietta Camahort (San Francisco, Calif.), Marin Rowing Association Nora Goodwillie (Chicago, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Elsa Hartman (Roseville, Calif.), Capital Crew Sophia Klessel (Bronxville, N.Y.), RowAmerica Rye Mia Levy (Des Moines, Iowa), Andover Crew Lauren Peters (Knoxville, Tenn.), Atomic Rowing Paloma Sequeira (Cambridge, Mass.), Community Rowing, Inc. Sofia Simone (Miami, Fla.), Sarasota Crew Cate Van Stone (Philadelphia, Pa.), Mount Saint Joseph Academy 6 Alternates Drew Cavanaugh (Greenwich, Conn.), Greenwich Crew Annika Jeffery (Portland, Ore.), Rose City Rowing Club Travis O'Neil (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Newport Aquatic Center Lily Pember (Chicago, Ill.), Chicago Rowing Foundation Hannah Smith (East Grand Rapids, Mich.), East Grand Rapids Crew Team Tristan Wakefield (Bettendorf, Iowa), Y Quad Cities Rowing Coaches Casey Galvanek, Women's Single Sculls/Men's Pair Eric Gehrke, Men's Lead Coach Men's Eight Gordon Getsinger, Women's Four Joa Harrison, Men's Single Sculls Andrew Hess, Men's Four with Coxswain James Long-Lerno, Men's Double Sculls Asiya Mahmud, Women's Four with Coxswain Stephen McCarthy, Men's Four Coach Caitlin McClain, Women's Lead Coach/Women's Quadruple Sculls Christopher Register, Men's Quadruple Sculls Liz Trond, Women's Pair Mike Wallin, Women's Eight Jamie Whalen, Women's Double Sculls Support Staff (Additional Staff TBA) Chris Chase, Director of Youth Rowing Will Daly, Team Leader Nicholas Haley, Team Leader Brett Johnson, Team Press Officer Kristine Karlson, Team Doctor 7 Event Preview The U.S. will have 14 crews competing at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Events include the men's and women's single sculls, double sculls, quadruple sculls, pair, four, four with coxswain, and eight. Last year, the event was cancelled due to COVID. In 2019, the U.S. won two medals -- silver in the men's eight and bronze in the women's single sculls. Julietta Camahort and Mia Levy are the lone returnees from the 2019 team. The U.S. roster includes athletes from 18 states. California leads the way with 10 athletes on the U19 roster, while Florida and Illinois each have seven. 8 Athlete Bios Meena Baher Women’s Quadruple Sculls Hometown: Mountain View, Calif. Height: 5’9” Weight: 150 High School: Woodside Priory School National Teams: One – Junior, 2021 National Results: Placed fifth in the single sculls at the 2021 USRowing Youth National Regatta. Personal: Meena was first-team, all-region and all-league in basketball in 2019-20. She also was first-team, all-league in cross-country. She received the 2020 Redington Cup, awarded to an underclassman with exceptional athletic ability and outstanding spirit, and the coach's award in cross country in 2019-20. Meena enjoys hiking, backpacking, photography, and meditating. She earned her Wilderness First Responder certification on a backpacking trip in Alaska. She picked up rowing during the first few months of the pandemic when she wasn't able to play basketball or race at any cross country or track meets. She missed being around a team and competing and heard that Los Gatos Rowing Club had a learn to row camp and thought, "why not?" She instantly fell in love with the sport and everyone involved in the club, and never stopped. She lists her parents as her personal heroes because they are both incredibly hard workers and taught her the value of trust and resilience. Paris Burbine Women’s Four Hometown: Alpharetta, Ga. Height: 5’9” Weight: 143 High School: Cambridge High School National Teams: One – Junior, 2021 National Results: Won the eight and finished second in the pair at the 2021 USRowing Southeast Youth Championships...Finished second in the eight at the 2019 USRowing Southeast Youth Championships. Personal: Paris loves going on walks, trying new foods, and spending time with her friends. She loves to workout and is super organized. Paris is a twin. Her freshman year, she received the Most Improved Varsity Woman Award. This year, she received the "The Spirit of SA" award, which is selected by her team's rowers and given to the person who embodies what the club stands for.