PRINCETON, N.J. - USRowing is pleased to announce the new High Performance Committee. Four new members have been appointed by the Board of Directors who, along with two athlete representatives elected by athletes, form the six-person committee. The High Performance Committee will work closely with the High Performance Director in the development and implementation of all plans and programs for identifying and selecting elite athletes to represent the United States in international competition.
Selected for a four-year term are:
Charley Butt - Bolles-Parker Head Coach for Harvard Men's Heavyweight Crew
Bob Ernst - seasoned U.S. national team coach and former University of Washington program director and both men's and women's team coach
Yaz Farooq - two-time Olympian, University of Washington women's team head coach and former Stanford head coach
Rob Milam - two-time national team member and Chairman of Rowing at the New York Athletic Club
Remaining on the committee through the end of their elected terms are athlete representatives Megan Kalmoe and Dan Walsh. Megan and Dan were both elected to four-year terms at the end of 2013.
"Supporting and enhancing the national team athlete experience is the focus of the High Performance Committee. These new members bring incredible backgrounds to our sport and will play a key role in how the national team operates for years to come," said USRowing Board of Directors Interim President Meghan O'Leary. "USRowing will utilize this expertise and perspective to strengthen our strategies and procedures as we move toward our goals for podium success in Tokyo 2020 and beyond."
"I look forward to working with the new and returning members of the High Performance Committee," said USRowing's Director of High Performance Matt Imes. "This group is qualified and, without a doubt, will lead us with insight and experience through the next quadrennial."
As part of the High Performance Task Force work, it was recommended to and approved by the Board of Directors to reform the committee and its structure for the 2020 cycle. Nominees were selected based upon a number of criteria with a focus on their experience as a rowing athlete or coach at the elite level. The primary function and goal of the High Performance Committee is to support the development of our National Team systems and improve overall performance in international competition.
Charley Butt
Charley Butt was named the Bolles-Parker Head Coach for Harvard men's heavyweight crew in 2013 and is currently in his 32nd season with the Harvard rowing program, having served as the Friends of Harvard Lightweight Rowing Coach for 28 years. An outstanding oarsman himself, Butt rowed on three U.S. national teams, winning a silver medal in the lightweight men's eight at the 1985 World Rowing Championships in Belgium. He also coached athletes in the 2008, 2004, 2000 and 1996 Olympics.
Bob Ernst
Bob Ernst's tenure with the University of Washington Huskies spanned 40 years and included eight national championships, one Olympic gold medal, and numerous wins both at home and abroad. Ernst has developed and guided hundreds of rowers to the elite levels of their sport. His tenure with the U.S. national team, 1976 to 1988, included coaching stints on four Olympic teams. His sterling moment came in 1984 when Ernst directed the U.S. women's eight to a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics.
Yaz Farooq
A two-time Olympian, Yaz Farooq is currently in her first season with the University of Washington Huskies after 10 seasons as head coach at Stanford, where she won an NCAA championship in 2009. Farooq served as a coxswain for the U.S. women's eight from 1989 to 1996 and first competed in the Olympics in 1992 in Barcelona. A 2014 inductee into the National Rowing Foundation Hall of Fame for her eight-year career as a U.S. coxswain, the University of Wisconsin graduate has built a reputation for developing high-level rowers. Under her leadership, 14 of Farooq's rowers have gone on to compete at the under-23 or senior World Championships-including two Olympians-winning 27 medals, 15 gold. Yaz has also worked with the NBC Olympic broadcast teams to cover the rowing events of every Summer Games since 2000.
Rob Milam
Rob Milam is a two-time U.S. national team member, competing in the lightweight men's four at the 2003 and 2011 Pan American Games. He is on the boards of the National Rowing Foundation, U.S. Lightweight Rowing Association, and the Princeton University Rowing Association. He has also been the Chairman of Rowing for the New York Athletic Club since 2013, where he is responsible for managing the Club's rowing program at both the local and elite levels. Prior to becoming chairman, Rob competed for the NYAC for almost 15 years, which in addition to the aforementioned Pan American Games, saw him compete multiple times across the country and internationally at a host of regattas, including USRowing Elite and Club Nationals, the Henley Royal Regatta in England, and the Head of the Charles. Rob is a graduate of Princeton University, where he rowed for four years and was a member of the 1998 Eastern Sprints and IRA champion lightweight men's eight.
Megan Kalmoe
A ten-year member of the national team, Kalmoe has represented the U.S. in three Olympics including a bronze-medal performance in the quadruple sculls at the 2012 Games in London. Kalmoe competed in the double sculls at the Beijing Games and recently raced in the quadruple sculls in the 2016 Games where she finished in fifth place both instances. At the 2015 World Rowing Championships, Kalmoe won the USA's first gold ever in that boat class. Kalmoe is a 2006 graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in Latin and English. Megan is currently training for the 2017 Senior National Team.
Dan Walsh
In the summer of 2001, Walsh began his 11-year career as a national team oarsman. He served as the alternate for the U.S. eight that won gold in Athens at the 2004 Olympic Games. He captured a bronze medal as the six seat of the eight at the 2006 World Championships and again won bronze in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics as the five seat of the eight. In the summer of 2009, Walsh was inducted into the Northeastern University (his alma mater) Varsity Club Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of rowing. Walsh is currently director of high performance and development at Maritime Rowing Club in Norwalk Conn.