By STEVE KICINSKI

For The Beachcomber

This season has been a breakthrough one for the Vashon junior rowers. Never before have they done so well at regattas, and never before have they received such national recognition for their rowing talent. Five Vashon Island Junior Crew members have been invited to USRowing National Camps this year.

In the history of the junior crew program, only three athletes have participated in national camps: rowers Tom and Will Kicinski and coxswain Olivia Sayvetz.

Novice rowers Mia Croonquist (eighth grade) and Emmie Kehoe (ninth grade) will be two of 30 attending the USRowing Junior Women National Development Camp. The camp identifies and hones the nation’s rowing talent for future national teams. These rowers were selected for their physical size, ergometer scores, passion for rowing and success in this year’s competitions. They will train this summer at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Laney Williams, a junior at Vashon High School and an experienced rower, has been invited to attend the CanAmMex Selection Camp. This camp is for older rowers with an emphasis on competition. The attendees will vie for a place in a boat competing at the CanAmMex Regatta in July. She will al-

so train at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Olivia Sayvetz, a junior at Vashon High School and an experienced coxswain, has been invited to attend her second National Camp. This summer, she’ll participate in the USRowing Junior Women’s National Team Selection Camp, with hopes of making the Junior National Team. Since only one coxswain is needed for each boat, the competition is fierce. Members of the Junior National Team will compete at the 2010 Junior World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, in August. Sayvetz will also train out of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

Vashon senior Will Kicinski has been invited to attend the USRowing Junior Men’s National Team Selection Camp. He, too, will compete for a place on the Junior National team with hopes of competing in the Junior World Rowing Championships in the Czech Republic this summer. He is one of about 40 rowers vying for 12 spots on the United States team.

Moving on from Vashon Island Junior Crew to row collegiately are senior Meaghan Connors, who will row for Clark College in Massachusetts, and seniors Steve DeWalt and Kicinski, who have been recruited to row for the University of Washington.

— Steve Kicinski is the father of rower Will Kicinski.