Friends of the Lopez Library proudly present the centerpiece of its annual meeting, an evening with Ginny Gilder: author, Olympic medalist, community advocate and one of the owners of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. Ginny will discuss and read from her book “Course Correction: A Story of Rowing and Resilience in the Wake of Title IX”. The book described as Wild meets The Boys in the Boat, is a memoir about the quest for Olympic gold and the triumph of love over fear. Ginny grew up in an era where girls mostly stayed on the sidelines in the gym–as observers and cheerleaders, not competitors and champions. Raised in a family where academic excellence and business acumen were treasured as the ultimate trophies, her assumptions about life changed nearly overnight when in 1975, as a freshman at Yale, she discovered rowing. From her first strokes as a novice, Ginny found herself in a new world. At Yale, she trained with two Olympic rowers and participated in the famous Title IX naked protest, which helped mold the future of women’s crew and helped define the Title IX movement. Ginny represented the United States on four national rowing teams, including two Olympic teams. She was named to the U.S. team that boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and the 1984 team that competed in Los Angeles. She holds a pair of international medals, including a bronze from the 1983 World Championships in the single and a silver as the stroke of the women’s quadruples sculls with coxswain from the LA Olympics. Course Correction recounts the physical and psychological barriers Ginny overcame as she transformed into an elite athlete who reached the highest echelon of her sport. Taking place against the backdrop of unprecedented cultural change, Ginny’s story personalizes the impact of Title IX, demonstrating the life-changing lessons learned in sports far beyond the athletic fields of play.
This program will take place at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts following the Tour de Lopez (Ginny is riding in it) and is free to all. A terrific way to end a special day on Lopez. Her book (out in paperback by then) will be available for sale and signing at the event through the Lopez Bookshop.
For more information about Ginny Gilder visit www.ginnygilder.com.
