You guessed it! Connecticut Boat Club received honorable recognition from Connecticut Governor, Ned Lamont, on Wednesday, January 31st in Hartford, CT. The team was invited as Governor Ned Lamont’s guests as he recently learned of the girl power that this team fosters and the numerous gold medals that the team has won over the years. CBC is a small but mighty all girls rowing program that was only recently established in 2010. The invitation to Governor Ned Lamont’s office took place during an afternoon meaning that not all of the girls could take off school and attend. Two coaches, Trond and Sweitzer, were in attendance, along with the 2023 Head of the Charles Champions (Khamish, Nickerson, Krantz, Nelson and Bell) and two senior leaders (Weneck and Maschoff).
Coach Jim Sweitzer commented on the day sharing how great of a day it was along with, “Our governor was super friendly and asked intriguing questions about our team and sport which lead to wonderful in depth conversation. The girls certainly appreciated being in the Capitol building and admired the separation of power inside of the building. It’s ironic that the group of girls that were present will be eligible to vote either this year or next year for the first time, therefore meeting Mr. Lamont was a great opportunity for them to be better informed of the candidates running.”
Coincidently, Ava Weneck, one of CBC’s senior in attendance wore her Harvard University sweater, which happens to be where she will be attending school starting in the fall of 2024. Governor Ned Lamont couldn’t help but notice Ava’s sweater and shared with the group that he also attended Harvard University. This ‘no way moment’ was a fun ice-breaker!
For Varsity coxswain, Izzy Khamish, it was an extra special day as she got the invitation from Governor Ned Lamont to sit in his chair after he immediately recognized her as the coxswain amongst the group of girls. “Representing our team at the capital was a tremendous honor and motivates me as a junior in high school. I’m excited to further contribute to the team’s success and leave my mark in the coming years. Both Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Bob Duff were incredibly gracious, and their recognition of our achievements this fall and in past years, as well as the overall importance of women in sport and the value of rowing, was particularly moving” Khamish expressed with enthusiasm!
The CBC squad was also invited to Senator Bob Duff’s office after their visit with the governor. Coach Sweitzer shared that the girls were engaged in conversation throughout the day and that meeting the senator was the perfect way to end such a great afternoon. Sweitzer shared, “I learned for the first time that our senator is a Norwalk High School graduate! He resides in Norwalk which I thought was so special being that our boathouse and water time is based in Norwalk.”
The rest of the team received tons of texts with updates and pictures. Everyone as a whole is extremely excited for the recognition and support that the team is receiving. Now more than ever it feels like the 11 National Championship wins in a 14 year time spam that this non-profit, all girls team has won is spreading to a wider audience. CBC’s achievements being shared across the state and to our State Leadership brings a lot of happiness to the CBC Board Members and the Coaching Staff as everyone works very hard together to maintain the level of excellence and achievement of this club team.
Huge thank you again to Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Bob Duff for inviting us to the capitol building and making us feel so welcomed. We cannot wait to see you again and share more of our successes!
