Donna Pili Swings Late Nights at Her Bar and Early Morning Practices
This episode was made possible in part by: Breakwater Realty Group, Concept2, Live2Row, and our Patrons
Donna Pili is a San Diego native whose childhood desire to play sports was restrained by the need to help her immigrant Filipino parents. She remembers watching rowing on TV during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, but it wasn’t until nearly 30 years later, in an effort to retake control of her life, that she committed to learn to row. Since then, Donna’s found community at ZLAC and San Diego Rowing Club, and has traveled the world with SteeringUWright camps.
QUICK LOOK
00:00 - Intro
02:10 - Rachel met Donna at SteeringUWright camp in Tempe; Lesleh Wright was Donna’s first coach at ZLAC
04:12 - Getting into a pair with a new partner, wet launches, and sharing the water with non-rowers
09:23 - Rapid Fire Q&A
10:55 - Watching the ‘84 Olympic rowing, not having time for sports as a kid, and committing to learning to row as an adult
17:20 - Opening a restaurant to honor her Dad
19:45 - Getting involved with Chinook Performance Racing and Endeavor Racing Alliance
24:19 - Coaches Lesleh Wright and Lindsay Dare Shoop give us the scoop on Donna
26:30 - Raising the bar for masters, and creating supportive environments for masters women
32:18 - Local, national, and international racing plans for 2023; being open to learning in any environment, in any boat, with rowers of all experience levels
36:43 - Considering the possibility of a perfect stroke
40:55 - Finding Karaoke in London between practices for Henley
47:59 - After the show …
EPISODE Mentions
COACHES
Patrick Kington (SDRC) 📹
Lesleh Wright
Lindsay Shoop
EVENTS
Desert Sprints
Henley Royal Regatta
National Learn to Row Day
Row for the Cure 🎧
San Diego Crew Classic
USRowing Masters Nationals
USRowing SW Regionals
This episode was written, produced, hosted, and edited by Tara Morgan and Rachel Freedman. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.