On May 16th, 2023, our head coach Doug Van Gelder was removed from his position. Coach Doug started coaching Inglemoor's crew team in 2019. Since then, he has turned Inglemoor from an insignificant group into one of the top school crews in Washington. Inglemoor's Men's and Women's V8+ are now both ranked in the top 10 of all high school crews in the Northwest region of the country. Last spring, Inglemoor sent our Women's u17 4+ to Nationals in Florida, and they placed top 10 in the country. In a couple of weeks, the u17 4+ has another opportunity to show what they can do on a national stage. Not only has Coach Doug been incredibly valuable to us at Inglemoor, but he has also been a help to all of the Northshore School District programs. Last year, Coach Doug reached out to dozens of teams in the Puget Sound area to plan races so that every rower would have the opportunity to compete, no matter their skill level or experience. He also played an enormous role in getting a trailer to transport all of the boats for the district to races, along with being essential in organizing the bi-annual district championship in both fall and spring that Inglemoor is proud to host.

Ever since Coach Doug was let go, the team has been put under immense stress. Firstly, many of the rowers, including me, have been extremely disappointed and upset about the decision. Coach Doug is incredibly charismatic as a coach and person, and boasts his passion that was the heart of our crew. His desire for us to be great is what attracted over 70 athletes to our team this season. Now that Coach Doug is no longer with Inglemoor, an abundance of our rowers have considered quitting the sport entirely. When Coach Doug was fired only two days before our team left for regionals in Vancouver, our two remaining coaches were forced to replan our schedule for the weekend on an incredibly short notice. While they did an incredible job, they were visibly stressed throughout the entire process. On this occasion, they had to look after our top two boats on the men’s and women’s side. When the entire team is present, the number of athletes doubles, further stretching their capabilities.

It is essential to everyone at Inglemoor Crew, as well as the other programs in our district, that Coach Doug is rehired. If Coach Doug cannot return, our rowing programs will be damaged beyond repair. His knowledge and experience cannot be overlooked, with him rowing and coaching at Washington State University prior to joining us. This has helped him in organizing our races unlike any other coach in the district. The rowers ask you to sign this petition to help us in the journey to rehire our coach. Please share this to spread the word around. Doug Van Gelder is the reason for Inglemoor’s success, and we will not lose our coach that easily.