St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Ava Schetlick representing USA at Women’s Rowing World Championships

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - One rising senior at St. Anne’s-Belfield is representing the USA in the Women’s Rowing World Championships.

Working out seven hours a day, six days a week is the new normal for women at the USA Rowing Selection Camp.

Ava Schetlick says it’s worth it.

“It’s honestly a surreal experience,” she said.

Seventeen-year-old Ava joined girls from across the country competing at the under-19 selection camp in June.

“For a solid, I think, six or seven weeks we were training out in California, and it was just it was hot, and it’s physically draining,” Ava said.

Only 27 out of the almost 80 girls make the world’s team.

“Being able to handle that, and staying positive and excited and ready for every practice is just, I guess, part of the process,” Ava said.

She is currently in Varese, Italy, gearing up for the big race as a two-seat in the U19 quad boat. Because there is no coxswain in this boat, Ava makes the calls.

“We were out on the course today and I was rowing alongside Germany and Argentina and Greece and all of these other countries, and there’s just so many different languages going around around you,” Ava said.

When asked how she stays calm before a race, Ava simply says she doesn’t.

“You just get to the start line and you kind of just get in the zone and the blocks go up and they start naming all the countries in the heat, and then the buzzer goes off, and you’re just kind of locked in and just go,” Ava said.

Ava is taking her skills to the University of Virginia next year.

“I’ve just learned so much about myself in the process, how I am as an athlete and it’s also just like a great way to prepare for being around incredible athletes who are all training just as hard as you are when I get to UVA,” she said.

The first of what is hopefully three races for the U.S. team is on Thursday, July 28.

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