Staples grad Schmidt will compete in U23 championships
During the summer months, most college students return to their respective hometowns to do a handful of things to fill up their time away from school. Whether it’s a summer job, internship, or simply catching up on sleep, by the time late August comes around, everyone will have their own summer stories to tell.
Few will have better stories to bring back to school than Justin Schmidt.
The 2019 Staples High School graduate will broaden his horizons, and skills, as he travels to Italy to compete in the 2022 U23 World Rowing Championships.
A group of about 14 teams from all over the world will congregate at Lake Varese, a nearly 51⁄2-mile course to battle for supremacy on the junior rowing stage. The competition will be the first time Schmidt will row at the international level.
“Throughout high school and college, I’ve always wanted to experience the highest level of rowing,” Schmidt said. “The boat that I am in right now is at the highest level undoubtedly. I don’t get that feeling often at my club in college. I am excited to compete and show ourselves on the world stage. We’re going to find that we’re successful.”
Schmidt is currently rowing as a member of the University of Delaware’s club team.
Alongside Schmidt in the boat are Eli Rabinowitz, Troy Riesenberger and Simon Dubiel. Rabinowitz rows at Georgetown University, while Dubiel and Riesenberger row at the University of Pennsylvania.
During his years at Staples, Schmidt competed as a member of the Saugatuck Rowing Club, which sits on the outskirts of Westport. While there is no direct school affiliation when it comes to rowing, he says Staples provides many rowers to the rowing club.
Throughout the year, Schmidt and his fellow rowers competed against what he considered some of the best competition in the region at the junior level.
“Not even 20 minutes from us is the Maritime Rowing Club (in Norwalk). If you go down to Greenwich, the Greenwich program is insanely strong. Just over the Connecticut/ New York border is Rye Rowing,” Schmidt said. “Being able to race all of these programs year round at the high school level was great because you get to see how fast the top crews in America are.”
The quartet of Schmidt, Riesenberger, Dubiel and Rabinowitz come from different areas of the country. Rabinowitz comes from close by Rye, New York; Dubiel is from Seattle; and Riesenberger calls Sarasota, Florida, home.
In order to earn a bid to the U23 championships, the group had to compete in a trial event held in Sarasota in mid-June. The group had to win their trial event to receive a bid to compete in the national championship. In the process of earning the bid, the group defeated the boat that represented the U.S. in last year’s U23 championship.
In the weeks and months leading up to the competition, Schmidt and his teammates practiced seven days a week for four hours a day, beginning at 6:15 in the morning. After the morning workout was complete, they had a large break to recover or get extra training before they reconvened for a second practice at 5.
While it will be Schmidt’s first experience rowing at the national level, Rabinowitz and Dubiel bring experience in the event, having competed in the same U23 championship just a year ago.
“We learned a lot about our weight management and how races are raced over there,” Rabinowitz said. “U.S. high school and college racing strategically plays out very differently than how a lot of European crews end up racing. It’s advantageous to be close to know what they are doing and respond to it.”
The group departed the country for Italy on July 19 and compete in their first race on Tuesday. After a few days competing nationally, the team will conclude its national play on Friday and will return to the United States the following morning.
Like any international excursion, Schmidt and his fellow rowers have been looking to raise funds to offset a variety of costs that come with national competition, such as travel, hotel and boat rentals, among other expenses.
The team has set up a GoFundMe with a goal of raising $33,500.