Madison Barchas '17 Recruiting Profile

In my sophomore year of high school, I traded fencing (in which I was nationally ranked in epee) for rowing.  I fell in love with crew because, unlike fencing, competition is not about the individual, but about working in sync with teammates to pull a fully loaded 70 kg shell to the finish line. Backwards. I love how instead of going up against my opponent alone, I now have a place on a team that pulls together, literally.

Although a relative newcomer to the sport, I am passionate about rowing. The closeness and shared work ethic that I have with my TRC teammates is something that I seek in a college team. Although I only see most of my teammates at practice, I feel closer to them than my high school friends.  18 hours on a bus will do that!

Rowing forces me to keep my mind inside the boat. For two hours at a time, I don’t stress about homework, or the next task on my to-do list.  Rowing also takes me outdoors.  In January I received my training certification as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and want to practice medicine some day, hopefully in an outdoor setting.  I don’t mention this because I plan to practice my emergency medical training on a teammate, but because these skills reflect my discipline, non-squeemishness, and community focus.

Water sports are at the center of the two non-US cultures in which I was raised: I was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and although I live in Texas, spend as least part of each summer with family in Holland (my 3 passports are USA, EU, and NZ).

I seek a place on a rowing team at an academically challenging college or university that can support me in my ambitions to be a trauma doc, and would welcome a beanpole who’s watched too many reruns of “MASH.”  In turn, I promise to be the best rower that I can be and push myself to my limits.

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Note:  Because this website does not have “Fencing” on its pull-down menu for additional sports, here is some extra information about my prior sport.  I began fencing in 4th grade (at Texas Fencing Academy under coach Ray Parker) and continued through 8th.  With hard work I managed to become nationally ranked in epee (I also fenced in foil and sabre). Upon entering high school I sought a more team-based sport and soon fell in love with rowing.