From Nationals to the Future

Viktoria Ekstrand (front) and Myla Chance (back) placed 4th in the Womens Youth Double. NORTH PALM BEACH ROWING CLUB / COURTESY PHOTOS

Fresh from a stellar performance at the national championships, the North Palm Beach Rowing Club is building for the future.

And hopefully soon breaking in ground on a new boathouse ho for the community.

“We’re incredibly proud of them all,” says Jessica Merriam, co-founder of the club with her father, Jock Merriam. “Our team is growing. We want to continue to build on the culture of excellence that has really taken root this year.”

Five boats from the North Palm Beach Rowing Club club competed at the nationals in Sarasota in June. The competition featured 854 boats, 225 clubs, and over 4,000 athletes nationwide.

Jessica says the North Palm Beach girls, in particular, went against much older teams. “They showed a lot of poise and maturity against the best competition across the country. They really matured in a short amount of time.”

“Everybody was happy. Our kids were happy,” says Jock. The key was determination, he says. “They worked hard. I saw them training weeks prior. They would come to train right after school let out. I think they showed a lot of character there.”

NORTH PALM BEACH ROWING CLUB / COURTESY PHOTOS

The head coach of the rowing club, Scott McKee, says the teams’ performances were “a reflection of the commitment and passion that all our rowers and coaches have put in throughout the season. They had some remarkably close and gutsy races. Achieving such impressive results is a milestone for our program.”

Team rankings after the national competition:

Womens Youth Double: Viktoria Ekstrand and Myla Chance – 4th place

Mens Youth Pair: Logan Smith and Ronin Jones – 7th place

Womens U17 (under age 17) Double: Adele Schwinghammer, Briauna Brown – 12th place

Womens Youth Quad: Kaitlyn De- Maria, Fredericka D’Loughy, Wilhelmina D’Loughy, Chloe Ryder – 17th place

Womens U17 (under age 17) Single: Philippa Bouwman – 20th place

“They got some motivation to come back and improve on the results for next year, says Jock Jones, whose son Ronin came in 7th place in the Men’s Youth Pair category with his teammate, Logan Smith. “Our kids rowed their hearts out against kids who rowed their hearts out, too.”

Logan Smith and Ronin Jones rowing in the 2024 SE Regionals..

The club will be busy in the off-season raising funds for a new boathouse in Bert Winters Park. In partnership with the VoLo Foundation, the club’s Boathouse Development Project aims to provide top-notch facilities for the community.

VoLo is a private family foundation based in Jupiter, founded by David S. Vogel and Thais Lopez Vogel. The foundation focuses on climate change, the environment, education and improving health.

“David Vogel was a competitive rower in his younger years and still is a recreational rower,” according to Shannon Maganiezin, foundation operations director. “He credits the sport for developing his athleticism and grit. Thais Lopez Vogel is an attorney and climate change advocate. She believes when people love the outdoors as she does, they will be motivated to protect and preserve it. She teaches the community, through her passion, to care for the planet.”

Jock and Jessica Merriam at 2022 World Masters Championship

VoLo is the primary sponsor, contributing $1.2 million to the $4 million boathouse project.

“We are thrilled to support meaningful projects that create a pathway for more people to find a personal interest to improve themselves and love nature,” said the Vogels. “The fact that it’s in our backyard and will bring so many advantages to the North Palm Beach community is a bonus. We encourage others to join the North Palm Beach Rowing Club.”

The new facility will be for the whole community and provide a safe training space for club programs. “They will be able to train in inclement weather, thunderstorms, the heat of the sun and hurricane season,” says Jessica.

To learn more about the Boathouse Development Project, visit yourcommunityfoundation.org/funds/boathouse

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