Veterans Day Spotlight: Patrick Ward
Team JL Ambassador, Patrick Ward is a disabled United States Navy Veteran, injured while on Active Duty. He underwent 52 surgeries and the amputation of his right leg above the knee racking up a total of more than 2 years in the hospital. He has trained at the Miami Beach Rowing Club for the last 5 years, and currently holds Men’s PR2 World Records in multiple categories. In honor of Veterans Day 2022, we sat down with Pat to learn more about his journey from his high school dreams of being a rower, to becoming a PR2 athlete.
HOCR 2022 Recap
Another Head of the Charles Regatta is in the books! Highlights included brand new product drops, an opportunity to meet with an account manager about custom rowing gear, the Ukrainian National Team, a meet & greet with US Para National Team athlete, Andrew Mangan, and Team JL ambassador boats. Check out some photos from the weekend below!
Finding Strength and Recovery Through Rowing
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are highlighting one of our Team JL Ambassadors, Michelle Lyons, who discovered rowing after going through treatment for breast cancer. Read about how Michelle's breast cancer journey led her to find the sport and community of rowing.
Team JL Spotlight: Joanne Culley
Team JL Ambassador Joanne Culley may not have been introduced into the rowing world until she was 43 years old, but she has been loving every minute of it for the last 10 years. Joanne prefers the wildness of rowing at sea over flat water rowing, starting with gig rowing, and more recently - coastal rowing. Keep reading to learn about gig rowing vs coastal rowing, the exciting World Pilot Gig Championships, and Joanne's goals for Coastal World Championships this year.
Team JL Spotlight: Rusna Sangha
Team JL Ambassador, Rusna Sangha is working to increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the sport of rowing, one stroke at a time. After joining her local rowing team, she realized that although there were similarities between her and the other rowers, there was one thing that made her different: She was one of only three BIPOC athletes on the team. By the end of her novice year, she was the only BIPOC athlete left on the team. Read about Rusna's story, and her goals for not only herself as a rower, but for increasing DEI in rowing as a community.
Team JL Spotlight: Gianna Perugini
Determined, adaptable, and dedicated are three words Team JL Ambassador, Gianna Perugini, uses to describe herself as an athlete. From rower to coxswain to adaptive rower, Gianna has loved being involved in the sport of rowing since she was 9 years old.
Stand With Ukraine Pre-Order Store
JL Racing is collaborating with Team JL Ambassador, Michael Toutloff, to launch a pre-order store to help support an organization that is providing aide to the Ukrainian people. 100% of the proceeds of this pre-order store will be donated to the UN Crisis Relief Fund. Donations from UN Crisis Relief go towards the United Nation’s efforts to fund immediate rapid-response aid when disasters strike and critical work in humanitarian crises around the world. In this case, the Ukraine crisis.
Women's History Month: 24 Hour Indoor Row
In honor of Women's History Month and International Women's Day (March 8th), we sat down with Team JL Ambassador, Rachel Smillie to ask her what she is doing to celebrate women in sport. Her answer? A Guinness World Record attempt on the indoor rowing machine to travel the furthest distance by a female team in 24 hours. Keep reading to learn about the details of a row like this, why she is taking on this challenge, and what Rachel hopes to accomplish by taking part in a 24 hour row
Team JL 2022 Picks
Team JL ambassadors have a wide variety of experiences with rowing. From rowing and coxing to coaching, and from youth to masters, our ambassadors are all throughout the rowing community. Because of their years of experience, we asked our ambassadors what their favorite piece of JL gear is. See how they responded below!
Team JL Ambassador Training To Row Across The Atlantic
On this National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we join in on recognizing student-athletes, champion athletes, coaches, administrators and lawmakers committed to providing equitable access to sports for all girls and women. We would like to highlight one of our Team JL ambassadors, Rachel Smillie, who is currently training to rowing across the Atlantic Ocean with two other women.
Black History Month 2022
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history over the month of February. In honor of Black History Month, we worked with Kizmet Wallace, a black small business owner & designer, and Team JL ambassador, Maurice Scott, to design this year's Black History Month Collection.
JL Racing Set to Directly Endorse Athletes in 2022
For the last four years, JL Racing has been the official sponsor of the US National Team, providing them with unique custom uniforms and performance apparel. In light of the new N.C.A.A. policy change, JL Racing plans to re-direct marketing efforts by offering sponsorship opportunities to individual athletes from each level and from all over the world.
