Friends of UCLA Rowing Celebration Weekend
28 FEBRUARY 2026 - FOUR GALA Banquet
FOUR ANNUAL BANQUET
Saturday, February 28th 5:30-10:00 pm
Join UCLA Rowing and our special guest, Daniel James Brown, New York Times #1 Bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In this year, the 90th Anniversary of those Games, we celebrate Mr. Brown’s priceless contribution to the world of rowing and have the opportunity to thank him.
(Books will not be for sale that evening, but Mr. Brown has graciously agreed to stay after the banquet ends to inscribe copies of the book that you bring in with you.)
Banquet Ticket Site Closed
In order to gather data from the sales of tickets, including making name tags, UCLA has closed the ticket-purchasing site for Saturday's banquet. Persons who wish to attend will be able to purchase tickets at the door Saturday evening. The event starts at 5:30 pm and will end approximately 10:00 pm.
SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL DISTINGUISHED GUEST LIST AT UCLA MEN’S ROWING BANQUET FEBRUARY 28 AT UCLA
Anita DeFrantz, former Vice President and member of the International Olympic Committee, twenty years Vice President of World Rowing, USRowing Medal of Honor winner, member of the LA28 Board of Directors and 1976 Olympic bronze medal rower.
https://www.anitadefrantz.com/
Robert “Bob” Ernst, coach of the 1984 Olympic gold medal Women’s eight, coach at four Olympic Games, former Head Coach of the University of Washington men’s and women’s teams.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ernst?wprov=sfla1
Matt Evans, LA28 Rowing Competition Manager, former World Rowing Senior Event Manager, Glasgow 2018 European Championships Rowing Competition Manager.
Jan Palchikoff, UCLA Women’s team rower, Olympic rower, Pac-12 Conference’s All-Century team in Women’s Rowing. She was elected to the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
https://uclabruins.com/news/2016/5/10/210944189
Vasileios Polymeros, multi-Olympic medalist for Greece, President of the Greek “Hellenic” Rowing Association.
https://worldrowing.com/athlete/vasileios-polymeros?id=8731
Giovanni “Gianni” Postiglione, World Rowing Coaching Director, twice World Rowing Coach of the Year, coach of Greek Olympic gold medal Men’s 1x in Tokyo among others.
Tricia Smith, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Member of the International Olympic Committee, 12 years Vice President of World Rowing, Olympic and World Championship medalist rower.
https://olympic.ca/board-members/tricia-smith/
Mike Teti, former US Rowing Men’s Eight Coach, coach of the 2004 Olympic gold medal eight, World Championship gold medal winner in 1987 (with Mike Still), former coach of UC Berkeley.
https://row-360.com/mike-teti-words/
Josy Verdonkschot, US Rowing Chief High Performance Director, coach of many Olympic and World Championship medalist crews, former coach in the Netherlands and Italy.
History
FOUR has been hosting this weekend of activities for alumni, athletes, family, and friends every year as the team enters into its Spring racing season. The days are filled with boat races, fellowship and camaraderie, honoring of our long history, food and drinks, and of course fundraising to ensure a long future for UCLA Rowing.
