My name is Sue Koscielski. I am the Founder, Head Coach and President of Sweeps & Sculls Rowing. I started the club with my rowing partner, Mark Noel, in 2017 and ever since then, it has been a labor of love. More of our history is in the presentation below. Sadly, Mark passed away in the spring of 2019. A blow to me personally and to the young people on our team. However, Mark's legacy remains.
More than anything, we wanted to create an environment that lets everyone know they they can be comfortable with who they are and know that it is OK to be yourself. Our club is about more than rowing. It is about making good people. The culture of our club is probably more important to me than anything else, but it is about creating that environemnt and teaching those lessons through the amazing sport of rowing.
I have always wanted to attend the US Rowing Convention. It was something Mark and I talked about every year. I want learn as much as I can about rowing, coaching and running a rowing club, I want to make connections in rowing that will help make me and the club better. I want Sweeps & Sculls to be bigger than me. I want it to be lasting. There is a lot to do and to know to make that happen and the US Rowing Convention is a great place to start.
This year, one of the Masters rowers (and a Juniors parent) sent me a link to Steady State Network and the Changemaker Scholarship. When I read the description, I knew I had to apply!
I am so grateful to have been chosen as one of the Changemaker Scholarhips winners for 2020! I want to thank the Steady State Network, but I also want to thank Tacoma Youth Rowing, the sponsor of my scholarship, for this opportunty. They are also a new program, and for them to help out another new program in this way is simply amazing. I will pay it forward some day soon!
2020-GrantPres.pptx