Dates to Know Rowing Center News
Junior Program News Adult Program News
BIR in the Community Development News
Year End Giving
A Letter from our President
As we reflect on this past quarter, I am filled with gratitude for the incredible energy and generosity that continues to define our community.
Our annual Dream Big fundraiser was a beautiful evening—fun, rewarding, and truly memorable thanks to the many volunteers who gave their time and resources to make it possible. To everyone who came and to all who donated, thank you for making Dream Big a celebration of community and impact. Together, we raised $135,000 to expand access to rowing and move closer to completing our capital campaign, ensuring that BIR remains a place where people can thrive and pursue their hopes and dreams.
Our rowing programs also had a strong fall season. While the weather proved to be a bit of an anomaly, our crews showed up with spirit and resilience, embracing every challenge and celebrating the joy of being on the water together. Their commitment reflects the heart of BIR—perseverance, camaraderie, and passion for the sport.
Beyond the auction and rowing season, we celebrated our shared spirit through community events both on and off the water. The 2nd Annual Brown Bear Regatta welcomed rowers from across Greater Seattle for a day of friendly competition. We co‑hosted Bainbridge Island’s inaugural Oktoberfest, where several hundred islanders and Seattleites gathered to celebrate and experience the boathouse firsthand. We also launched our first annual Stan Pocock Legacy Event, honoring Stan’s vision and those who exemplify his values. Each of these moments reflects the heart of BIR—connection, tradition, and joy.
Now, as another year comes to a close and we look ahead to 2026—our 25th Anniversary year—we have one more important goal: raising $60,000 through our year-end campaign. Achieving this will allow us to enter our milestone year with stability and momentum.
It is the generosity of our donors that sustains our boathouse capital campaign, maintains safe and high-quality equipment for our rowers, and keeps rowing accessible and affordable through scholarships. Your support truly changes lives each day.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, let’s finish 2025 strong and launch into our 25th year with pride and purpose.
With gratitude,
Kathy Kalstrup
President, Bainbridge Island Rowing
Dates to Know
Dates to Know
- 🎁 BIR Holiday Shop is open!
- Now – Feb: Winter conditioning
- Dec 13: BIR Holiday Workout
Adults and Juniors team up for a festive holiday workout in the Great Room. Wear your festive gear and stick around after for treats and a prize for the winning team. Friends and family are welcome to come cheer or join in on the fun! - Jan: Spring registration opens
- Jan 24: A Most Beautiful Thing movie screening @ Lynwood Theatre
Certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, A Most Beautiful Thing chronicles the true story of a group of young men growing up on Chicago’s West side who form the first all-Black high school rowing team in the nation. Based on the memoir by Arshay Cooper. - Jan 26: Adult Learn to Erg starts
Led by longtime BIR coaches Kathy Maher and Barb Shane, this 8 week group fitness course designed to teach the technique, mechanics, and lingo of rowing without actually hitting the water. This class can be taken on its own for fitness or in preparation for an upcoming Learn to Row session. Learn more and register on our website. - Feb 7: Parks & Trails Foundation work party
BIR is proud to partner with Parks & Trails as part of our stewardship of our shared backyard, Waterfront Park. Juniors and Adults partner to remove invasive plants, spread mulch, and install native plants across this city park. - Feb 7: NW Ergomania in Tacoma
This is an official host site of the USRowing Indoor National Championships. Competition is open to all ages and abilities. Learn more. - Feb 1: Lakeside Indoor Scrimmage
BIR hosts Lakeside for an erg scrimmage at our boathouse. - Feb 21: Ergopalooza @ BIR
End the season strong with erg races in the Great Room. This is the perfect venue for Juniors and Adults to knock out their 2k test in preparation for spring season. - Feb: Adult Learn to Row registration opens
BIR Coaches Kathy Maher and Barb Shane invite you to share in their love of rowing at a 2 week Learn to Row session in 2026. Learn more.
rowing center news
Rowing Center News
This fall has brought a diverse spread of events from our larger community. The rowing center played host to a very fun Zumba master class featuring internationally renowned instructors. Next up was a full scale vinyl record expo which attracted vendors, collectors, and enthusiasts from across the great Seattle metropolitan area. The second annual Bainbridge Book Festival also returned to the boathouse for a weekend of literary celebration that brought together a spread of local and nationally known authors, book enthusiasts, and curious minds under our roof for a weekend of sharing and discovery.
It was an honor to provide the venue for BIJAEMA’s 2025 Civil Liberties Symposium. This poignant event explored the coram nobis cases of the 1980s—Hirabayashi v. United States, Korematsu v. United States, and Yasui v. United States— which vacated the wartime convictions of Japanese Americans who resisted unjust government orders during WWII.
Junior Program News
Junior Program News
Junior rowers got plenty of time on the water this fall, with Varsity crews getting their chance to put all their hard work to the test at Tail of the Lake and Head of the Lake. Sadly the weather had other plans for our Novice rowers — cancellations at American Lake and Green Lake’s Frostbite Regatta snuffed out much of their opportunities to race after all the excitement of the Brown Bear Cup at the season kickoff.
Head of the Lake served as a healthy bookend to close out fall racing. BIR brought 18 total entries to the mix and had one of the largest club presences. We arguably also had the best Regatta Kitchen setup in the trailer parking lot. A team highlight of the day was when two Novice girls jumped on the opportunity to support their Varsity teammates on the water. Shout out to Lillian Fowl and Claire Baczek for seizing the day!
Signing Day at Bainbridge High School was a spotlight moment for two of our Varsity rowers: Theo Roesch will be taking his talents to Georgetown next year and Paige Murphy will row at Gonzaga. Theo and Paige both got their start at BIR in 8th grade.
adult program news
Adult Program News
Fall rowing means head races, and there was no shortage of action for our Adult Team. Competitive rowers of all experience levels raced near and far. BIR sent lineups to all of the major Seattle area head races again this fall, and was proud to be represented by two crews who secured entries at the Head of the Charles in Boston.
Our final Learn to Row class of the year wrapped in August bringing the 2025 Adult Novice cohort up to 30 rowers. This crew came up from the ergs together and have added a new depth to our adult rowing community. The Brown Bear Cup was their first chance to experience a real regatta and it did not disappoint — a number of them were up to the challenge and hopped in their first race lineups. With a first race under their belts, several novices felt confident to compete at Tail of the Lake, American Lake, and even Head of the Lake with a full audience through the Montlake Cut!
The Adult Team’s season finale was arguably Tim Goss and John Christiansen showing everyone how fun a head race can be. These two BIR legends won the day with John comfortably beating Tim by 8 seconds to take gold in the Mens Masters 1x before they joined forces to take silver in the Mens Masters 2x.
BIR in the community
BIR in the Community
The Brown Bear Cup returned for its second year in September. BIR put 275 Juniors and Adults from 6 clubs including our own on the water for a full day of friendly competition to kick off the head race season. Teammates, parents, neighbors, Waterfront Park passerby and more than a few sailboats came together for this beautiful day full of community spirit on Eagle Harbor.
It was an all hands on deck kind of day, with dozens of BIR volunteers stepping up to make our boathouse shine and all of our rowers feel safe and welcome. The open house featured a watch party in the Great Room complete with live drone footage thanks to rower Eric Hammer. The BIR Regatta Kitchen served up an incredible breakfast spread for athletes and BIR family-owned Grillipinos fed the crowd a much needed hearty lunch between races.
Bainbridge Island Rowing’s Fall Invitational Regatta is made possible through the generous support of our local business sponsor, Brown Bear Car Wash. Through their sponsorship, BIR is able to make this full day event available to visiting clubs free of charge.
The first annual BI Oktoberfest was a major community highlight this fall. BIR produced this event in close partnership with our island neighbors from the Downtown Association and Bainbridge Events. The beer and the brats were flowing at this family friendly all day celebration which came complete with costumes, stein holding contests, pretzel crafts and even a live set from the Hometown Band.
development news
Development News
We gathered in September for the first annual Stan Pocock Legacy Day to honor Stan’s legacy and honor those who exemplify his vision and values. Guest speakers Bill Tytus and Kiel Reijnen joined BIR members, friends, and family.
“My earnest desire is that the quality of the community-oriented rowing projects we envision will be known for generations to come.” – Stan Pocock
BIR has recognized three of our community members this year with the Stan Pocock Legacy Award for the depth of their impact, commitment to shaping a strong future for BIR, and exemplifying the values Stan was known for: Bill Booth, Amanda Harper, and Tim Dore.
We are thrilled to share that Bainbridge Island Rowing was awarded a $3,000 BI Parks & Trails Community Grant. This funding will help purchase a new motor for our launch, ensuring safe and reliable support for rowers on the water.
In addition, we were awarded funding from Cambia Health Foundation, providing partial support to complete the purchase of the new launch itself. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the BI Parks & Trails Foundation and Cambi Health Foundation for their generosity and support.
year end giving
Year End Giving
We are on track to finish this amazing year strong thanks to our community’s ongoing and tireless support!
Make your donation online or send your check to P.O. Box 10115 Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.
You can also donate through One Call For All: 100% of the funds received by OCFA goes directly to the nonprofit you designate. Each donation also earns your chosen nonprofit additional shares of a larger fund that all participating nonprofits split at the end of the campaign.
If you have questions please contact development@bainbridgerowing.org