Photo courtesy of Pam Jones
Pam Jones and Mary Cato row in 2020.
It’s a steamy August day in Florida and five boats are vying for the gold in the finals at the 2022 USRowing Masters National Championship. One coxswain starts beating the side of the slim boat, encouraging her rowers to keep going, to maintain their lead. They are far ahead of all the other boats in this 1,000 meter sprint race.
The four pink-shirted women keep rowing in unison propelling the boat forward— the announcer commenting on their impressive stroke rate compared to the other boats in this sweep rowing race. “Those rowers are dropping the hammer on the field right now, they are not letting up at all … open water over everyone else,” the announcer describes. Then she continues, “And that is pretty decent for an E masters boat.”
Photo courtesy of Pam Jones
Pam Jones and Chris Vest participate in mixed doubles at Diamond State Masters Regatta in July 2022.
Pam Jones, an Alexandria resident and one of the rowers, chuckles when she hears this comment as she watches a recap of the race. Seeing her fellow teammates working hard as they move through the water, she’s partly annoyed by the announcer’s backhanded compliment.
“She’s saying that we’re going pretty fast for old people,” she explains. Jones laughs it off again but she’d be the first to admit that they are very competitive for women in their fifties, and they like to win. They clinched the gold for that race, along with many other victories and medals over the years.
Jones and the other rowers — Jenn Bright, Mary Cato, and Christina Swartz — compete in masters rowing races for Alexandria Community Rowing (ACR), a local club for adult rowers. Formed 35 years ago, ACR has about 200 members participating in its novice, club, and competitive programs. Cato is head of ACR operations, and Jones is the representative for its competitive sweep program.
Masters rowing events are open to rowers who are 27 years old or older. Rowers are placed in age categories from A to M, with an A boat having an average age of 27 years or more, and an M boat with an average age of 89 or more. Jones and her fellow crew members row in an E boat, which has an average age of 55 or more.
During the April to November rowing season, ACR competitive and club rowers compete in local events, such as the Stonewall Regatta, the Head of the Occoquan, the Head of the Potomac, and the Capital Sprints. Those in the competitive program also travel to events outside the DMV, such as the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the Diamond States Masters Regatta in Delaware, and the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia.
Jones and her crew usually compete in seven sprint regattas each spring/summer, and five head races each fall. Sprint races are either 1,000 or 2,000 meters in length, much shorter than the three mile courses for head races. They also compete at the USRowing Masters National Championships, held every summer in various locations. That’s where they won the gold in the impressive 2022 race in Sarasota.
Jones, however, has taken her drive to compete in the sport of rowing one step further — or many more miles further — than her fellow ACR teammates by competing in the World Rowing Masters Regatta held internationally once a year.
Last September’s 2023 regatta in South Africa was a big one for Jones — she placed third in her age group for single sculling, competing against rowers from several different countries. It was an accomplishment at age 52 that she would have never imagined when she first starting rowing 10 years ago as a complete novice.
“Built Like a Rower”
Growing up in Westchester County, New York, Jones played softball, basketball, and volleyball. She loved the camaraderie of being on a team and competing at a high level, even traveling to China with her club volleyball team. After graduating high school in 1989, she headed to Johns Hopkins University to play Division III volleyball as a middle hitter.
At six feet tall and with long limbs, Jones had focused on volleyball for most of her life, even joining recreational teams after college. Little did she know that her body was the perfect form for rowing. “I’m built like a rower. I can’t believe no one every said ‘rowing’ to me before,” Jones acknowledges. Her high school didn’t have a crew team, and she was never exposed to the sport even while at college.
It was by word of mouth that Jones got introduced to rowing in 2013 when a neighbor started Late Risers Rowing in Alexandria. At that point in her life — a busy mom in her early forties with two daughters — Jones was ready to try something new and, most importantly, wanted to avoid injuries.
She had jammed her finger while playing volleyball in a recreational league. “I couldn’t even get my wedding ring off, and I was like okay, that’s it,” she recalls. “Rowing is a sport you can do sitting down” — that perk and less risk of injury are what sold her. She headed down to the boathouse in Old Town one morning with other novice moms to give rowing a try, ultimately saying good-bye to her volleyball days.
Late Risers Rowing
Looking back, Jones remembers that no one knew what they were getting into when Sarah Conrad, who had rowed with ACR, gathered them together for Late Risers Rowing. It was the perfect introduction to rowing in a very encouraging environment, she recalls.
Conrad started Late Risers when she proposed the idea to the booster club for the Alexandria City High School crew team. Her son rowed on the Titans team, and she realized that the school’s boats and its boathouse were sitting unused during the middle of the day. Why not start another rowing club for adults who didn’t want to get up at 5:00am in the morning and wanted a bit more flexibility during the season, she thought.
Conrad got approval from the boosters since they agreed to use this program as a fundraiser for the high school crew team — they receive funds from member fees. The group called themselves “Late Risers” since they didn’t start until 8:45am in the morning, well after the other early morning practices.
All three groups — Alexandria High School’s Titans crew team, Alexandria Community Rowing, and Late Risers Rowing — practice at the Dee Campbell Rowing Center, located on Alexandria’s waterfront in Rivergate City Park, just north of Oronoco Bay Park.
Coaching: A Natural Progression
Fast forward 10 years and Jones is now the coach for Late Risers. It’s a dreary March morning and she is leading the winter conditioning session on the second floor of the rowing center. This group of mostly women and a couple men, ranging in age from late 30s to early 70s, meets three times a week to work out together in the off season. They’ll get on the water in April, but for now it’s erg drills, weight training, and conditioning.
As coach, Jones takes the lead, guiding them in a direct but easy-going manner. The first exercise of the day are the ergs (or ergometer rowing machine), which replicate the body movements of rowing without being on the water or in a boat. More than 20 ergs are lined up in two long rows facing the wide expanse of windows with a view of the Potomac River.
For Jones, coaching the Late Risers has been her side gig since 2021. She’s dedicated to coaching this group and loves working with them. Even when she switched to the competitive ACR program in 2014, she still showed up to Late Risers, helping out on the dock, subbing for a boat, even scrunching up her long body to be a coxswain, according to Conrad.
“She never really left us all that time,” Conrad explains. It was a natural progression for her to become their coach when they needed a new one. “She’s got a great way of knowing how to help each person individually and brings this calmness over everyone,” she says about Jones’ coaching style.
She is impressed by Jones’ rowing achievements, but isn’t surprised by it at all. “She took to rowing like a duck takes to water,” Conrad laughs. She recalls the Late Risers screaming, “She’s our coach!” when Jones placed third in the 2023 World Rowing Masters Regatta.
Prior to taking this coaching job, Jones spent years as a substitute teacher for Alexandria City Public Schools. It allowed her to balance her life with children and her early morning rowing practices. She has an education background and had taught earth science in Prince William County. Now as an empty nester along with husband Dan, Jones can focus fully on rowing.
The Core Four
When not coaching, Jones trains for this season’s national and international races. That means 5:00am to 7:00am practices five times a week. Before coaching Late Risers that morning, Jones had worked out with her ACR group earlier and then took a single scull out on the water.
When Jones joined ACR’s competitive program, it didn’t take her long to find others with the same mindset and drive. “There’s a group of us that are in our fifties and wildly competitive … a core four of us that race together,” Jones explains. Coached by Jaime Rubini, this group includes Bright, Swartz, and Cato. The coxswain position, which steers the boat, can change each season, but the core four have competed together since 2015.
They see each other nearly every morning to train on the water or focus on conditioning. This hard work is geared toward winning their main event — Women’s 4+ in sweep rowing. For this race, the coxswain steers and each rower holds one oar with two hands, with the oars alternating along the side of the boat. Their determination as athletes has been rewarded by regularly placing in sweep races at the Masters National and Regional Championships. They also continue to qualify for the Head of the Charles Regatta for the Women’s 4+ in the 50s age category for the last few years.
Outshining the competition is not unusual for them. “We dusted the whole field by several meters….It was like a symphony of movement, with 36 strokes per minute,” Bright recalls with the 2022 Nationals win. “Your body goes into autopilot while pouring everything into it. That’s when the magic happens.”
Bright, who has rowed with ACR for 25 years, says the four of them are in sync with each other, that there’s just a natural ebb and flow while rowing as they “hit the swing.” Even though their technique and “leg drive” are critical, she emphasizes that their success is due to a strong sense of trust in each other.
They consistently perform well, but there is one event in particular these four haven’t won together — the Head of the Charles Regatta. Held each October, this regatta is one of the largest rowing events in North America, bringing together more than 11,000 competitors.
“We can taste the medal for the Head of the Charles,” Bright says. Jones, who broke her jaw in 2021 and couldn’t compete that year, is just as hungry for a win in 2024. They’ve come close by placing fifth and fourth in previous years. Her injury was a setback for several months but she came back focused on competing. Jones explains, “We put pressure on ourselves to win, we want to win. It’s almost like you’re in your own little world when you’re rowing — it’s very mental and intense.”
According to Bright, Jones sets a high bar when it comes to performance, but she is very understanding that everyone has a life and is doing their best. “She’s super positive and brings everyone up to meet the challenge,” Bright explains. “She’s a fierce competitor who wants to do everything you can to help the boat win.”
For a small community club, the ACR members are proud of what they have accomplished compared to other clubs with newer boats and more elite rowers, according to Bright. They all support each other and will fill in when someone can’t compete.
Taking on the World
Now an experienced rower, Jones has competed in almost every type of event —pairs, fours, and eights for sweeping races, and single, doubles, and quads for sculling races. She also competes in mixed boats that have an even number of men and women.
With her willingness to compete internationally and in different race events, she has formed a community of rowers outside of ACR. A co-ed group from Minneapolis that she met at Nationals recruited her to go to the 2023 World Masters Regatta in South Africa. Jones joined more than 900 competitors from around the world, including one 94-year-old from the U.S.
She rowed in several race events over the five days of competition, including her single sculling race, a mixed doubles sculling race, and an eight-person sweep race with four men and four women, with six of the rowers from Brazil and then herself and a women from Florida.
International masters rowers who want to race competitively can connect online looking to fill boats, Jones explains. She now has rowing friends across the globe and plans to attend the 2024 Worlds in Germany this September. For this regatta, she has connected with one rower from Hong Kong and another from Scotland.
On Her Own Sculling
Jones’ singles sculling event has taken off, with her rocketing to top finishes in races. She only started single sculling during the pandemic since the school’s boathouse was closed. Other boathouses in the area allowed single sculling, which was a safe way to get out on the water.
Being on your own is a bit scary before the start of a race, Jones admits. The sculling shell is very slim and can flip over easily. Despite her nerves, she competed in her first single sculling race at the Virginia Boat Club Sprints just last year. She followed that by competing at the 2023 Nationals, surprising herself by placing fourth.
Buoyed by her fourth place finish at Nationals, Jones was ready to take on the international competition in South Africa. That moment she placed third in her single scull race, one second behind an Austrian rower, is imprinted on her mind. As she pulled up to the dock to get her bronze medal, she was proud of herself. However, she’s determined to place higher in 2024 — that one second behind spurring her on.
Jones, humble about her rowing accomplishments, loved being at the Worlds, interacting with the international crowd, soaking up the hospitality of the host country, and just enjoying time with her husband since they made it into an anniversary trip. Since rowing isn’t really a spectator sport, her family rarely attends regattas but will watch the race livestreams.
Friends and family can expect to watch more race livestreams this year and for years to come, Jones promises. And, most likely, more medals from National and World Championships. Jones is only just beginning and ACR’s Bright, agrees — they want to keep rowing even when they’re really old and “smash the competition” in those later age categories.
Want to learn more about rowing?
National Learn to Row Day
Alexandria Community Rowing
Free Event!
Saturday, June 1, 2024
9 a.m. to Noon
Dee Campbell Rowing Center
One Madison St., Alexandria
Tour the boathouse
Learn to use an erg machine
Learn rowing basics
Head out on the water
Get info on summer novice programs
