ROW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REFLECTS ON 2022

This summer, I was asked to recall where I was when I learned that I had breast cancer. Although that was almost seven years ago, there was no hesitation, no finger-to-chin pause to consider. I remembered precisely the where, when, and what about how the news landed.

I told my story alongside three women on the ROW team, interviewed in commemoration of the team’s 15th anniversary. All of us have that diagnosis day burned into our memory—where we were, the date, and what each of us thought the day held in store before everything changed and a line was drawn across our lives. 

The emotions that accompany one across that line and into treatment—uncertainty, helplessness, frustration—are personal but also similar across our experiences. I think we all question if we will ever feel like ourselves again, and what, amidst all the things done to us, we can do ourselves to get there. That’s when somehow, through a referral, a media story, or a casually picked-up brochure, we find out about ROW. 

About fitness as part of wellness after cancer. About a low-impact, full-body sport accessible to all ages and bodies. About movement that mitigates lingering side effects and cuts our chance of recurrence. About a new habit that gets us outside, connected to nature and our inner athlete. About a workout that’s undeniably hard and incredibly fun, that bookends the life-changing experience of breast cancer with a new sport and a team around us, all women who have lived that day.

2022 ROW video created by Chris Sato

This July, as I recalled my path to Recovery on Water, I stepped into the role of the organization’s executive director. Just as I had never imagined at diagnosis that breast cancer would bring so many opportunities to strengthen my body and my friendships, I did not see this career move coming for some time! That’s because, in large part, a thriving, committed team was humming around me. Jenn Gibbons and Sue Ann Glaser, some 15 years ago at this writing, saw the need for breast cancer patients and survivors to get connected and active in a fun, challenging way, and that’s exactly what I found in 2016 as a Novice athlete pushing off the dock for the first time. 

There’s another moment for rowers when their life changes. Maybe it’s when, hands on oar handle, you feel the collar chunk into place in the oarlock. The blade slips into the water, and the river tries to take it, pushing the handle back into your palms. You don’t fight it, but you get ahead of it with your drive, following through with a long, decisive stroke. That’s it! YOU moved the boat! Well, you and seven others. That’s when the idea of coordinating a 12-foot long oar in a wobbly, un-set boat and finding the stamina to keep at it as long as coach says to so as not to let your teammates down, seems a little less insane and a lot more compelling. 

Having felt that moment for myself, I became sensitive to noticing it in others. The agency that comes with that decision—to become a rower—is powerful and positive for anyone. But in a breast cancer survivor that has had to passively endure treatment and decisions made primarily by others, it is once again life-changing. As opportunities arose to contribute to the team, I took them, first as a coach, and eventually on staff, managing programs and now leading the organization as executive director. 

As ROW moves into the new year, I’m so excited and grateful for the leadership energy around me. It takes all eight athletes to lift a 60-foot long shell, and the benefits of rowing as part of a team take a team to deliver. ROW begins 2023 with new programs staff and coaches eager to share their passion and skills. Our established coaching staff, including many committed volunteers, continues to lead workouts six days a week. Our board of directors grows and welcomes new members, undertaking a three-year strategic plan this January with the support of staff and ROW associate board. Together we can make ROW’s proven impact accessible to even more women who need it. 1,2,3, ROW!

Tara Hoffmann, Executive Director