Thalia K Considine Cup
An Honor Without Parallel at The San Diego Crew Classic
She gave birth to eleven children and then earned her bachelors in Chemistry, her masters in Nutrition (both from the San Diego College for women) and her MD from Harvard, then called Radcliffe University. She journeyed through the Andes and jungles to help women in the tribes of the Amazon, she taught women in colleges locally and assisted farmers with their sick cows in Germany. She took the time to give to her community, because that was who she was and this is the reason the San Diego Crew Classic’s Women’s Masters Club trophy is named after Thalia K Considine.
She carried around a quote:
“To give, and not to count the cost
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola
This was how Thalia Kelly Considine lived her life, a friend to all she met, kindly meeting all of them with the respect she believed all people deserved. In the rowing community, she was known not because she rowed, but because she was raised by a rower and raised rowers of her own. She took the time to be a part of the rowing community in San Diego, as a social member of ZLAC, the oldest women’s rowing club in the world, and was friends with the founders. Often she would sit in the boathouse, discussing the differences to be made in the community, all with one of her children there beside her.
She was one of a few select individuals who were the beginning of what will this year be the 47th San Diego Crew Classic. She helped in its early years, and for that The Crew Classic is honored to have in the Women’s Masters Club category, the Thalia K Considine Cup. She was a woman without parallel, who lived her life in a way that will be recognized going forward. She was a mentor to many women and so, she will continue to influence them in the legacy of her cup for women of all ages. She might not be able to instruct and mentor them in her absence, but she will be able to influence them permanently through her cup.
Rowing cups are not earned through hard work on a single day, they are won through hard work daily. It is a sport where diligence and constantly working to improve is rewarded not just in the boat, but in your life as well. It is also a sport where every stroke is an opportunity to learn and to improve. Most of all though, it is a sport where you learn to work as a team and not an individual.
This is the lesson of Thalia K Considine. She was a strong individual, who knew that in her being of service, she provided others with more opportunities to excel. In helping them to excel, she was the best teammate that someone could have had.
The San Diego Crew Classic will be April 4 and 5, this year at Crown Point Shores. For tickets and additional information please see: www.crewclassic.org.
