Spousta, head coach of George Mason University’s crew club, will compete Sunday in Boston in the Head of the Charles Regatta, a competition he has competed in more than 30 times and won eight times, setting a record in 1984.
When did you start rowing?
I started rowing in 1969, the day I turned 20. I was a junior at the University of Massachusetts.
Tell me about the course record you set.
It was 18 minutes, 16.9 seconds…. At the time I didn’t even know I’d set it. It didn’t really dawn on me until maybe months later or weeks later. It didn’t really sink in that much. It was a day when a lot of records got set, but that particular record still stands. There’s a few that still stand from 1984.
What do you love about rowing?
I like it now that it gives me a chance to relax. I just forget about what I do. I just get in the boat and I can just relax and forget about the rest of my life. And I still like to race and beat people, of course, and compete and see what I can do. It makes me feel good.
What’s a memorable time with your 42 years of experience with the sport?
One of the most memorable times I had in the sport was back in the summer of 1970. I was up in Boston and I was a spare for the Union Boat Club and they didn’t want to cut me so they said, ‘We want you to learn how to scull.’ And they put me in a boat. … I got out in a single and I just dearly loved it. I was out for a couple of hours by myself in a single the first time and I knew right then and there that this is something I was going to stick with. – Anna Waugh
