By Ed Piper
What do Bella Ciulli, Kate Rowley, and Maggie Hou have in common?
They all attend La Jolla High and row for the San Diego Rowing Club (SDRC).
What do the threesome have in common with Gabby Bigler and Kate Rasmussen?
All five rowed at Junior Nationals in Sarasota, Florida, in June. In their eight-oar boat, they finished in the top 20 (18th) in the nation.
In addition, in the hot, sweaty conditions in Sarasota, Bigler and Rasmussen, who attend Canyon Crest and Cathedral Catholic, respectively, placed first at Junior Nationals in PR3 Inclusive--a visually-impaired rower, in Gabby's case (another physical impairment also qualifies), paired with an able-bodied teammate.
All five and their other oarswomen, undoubtedly, all have their sights set on qualifying for the U.S. national team, and either the Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles only three years away in 2028.
Bigler, 16, recalls of the conditions in Sarasota, "Everything is hot. You're sweaty. Your hands are sweaty on the (oar) handles."
In the two-person scull, rowing is a little different from the eight-person. In the scull, each rower has two oars, one in each hand. In eight-person, each rower strokes with one long oar extending out to port or starboard, with the coxswain in front calling the cadence.
"The scull requires much more awareness," says Bigler, who carries a full load of courses at Canyon Crest, including Advanced Placement classes. She sits in the front row in class, takes photos of the whiteboard, and enlarges them to note details. "In the smaller boat, you have to make sure the boat doesn't lean."
Plus her partner, Rasmussen, sits behind her in the scull and looks over her shoulder (backwards) to keep the boat in the middle of the lane, centered between the buoy markers. Kate looks at a stroke counter, which Gabby cannot visually make out.
Her only job is to row. "I'm focused on my breathing and staying relaxed," the junior says. "I'm aware of my breathing and my technique--the position of the blades (on her oars)."
Gabby has a condition called Aniridia, which affects the development of the pupils. Obviously, she is sighted, but she needs the aid of her phone to make out notes on the board in class clearly.
Bigler took AP World History (APUSH) and AP U.S. History last spring at CCA, which has a demanding schedule of four one-and-a-half hour classes a day, and lots of homework and projects--not for the faint-hearted. This fall, she just started AP English and AP U.S. History, along with Physics and Pop Culture.
In the San Dieguito Union High School District, CCA is known for accepting the most promising students. Many students who don't want to face as rigorous and demanding an academic program opt for Torrey Pines High.
As someone who has worked in the district for the past decade, this reporter has seen how the campus at CCA doesn't experience some of the distractions, incidents, even unsettled classrooms that the other high schools in the district have. The same goes for its feeder middle school next door, Pacific Trails Middle School.
As for her aspirations, Gabby says of the Paralympics, which could be in her future, "I have trained with Paralympians. I was recently in Boston for selection camp for the 2025 World Rowing Championships, which went very well (for me).
"It was an amazing experience to get to train with the best Para rowers in the country, many of whom have competed at prior World Championships and Paralympics."
She talks about some of the challenges on campus, where all students are welcome to go across the street at Pacific Highlands and eat their lunch at one of the eateries there.
Bigler cannot specifically read the "Don't Walk" sign at the light. It is a challenge she has had to adapt to to stay safe. "When I'm walking around by myself, if the crosswalk is not working, I'll take a picture of it.
"If the crosswalk is working, I can't see the running man. I see it as a red thing. I don't physically see the running man. If it's not red, then I know I can go."
"At CCA, it's close enough (to the school). There are always people around. I go when other people go."
Of the pluses of her condition, she smiles. "The biggest advantage is my extensive sunglass collection. I have sports sunglasses. I have social sunglasses. As someone who loves fashion and dressing up," it's a cool thing. "That's how I categorize social sunglasses--non-athletic."
