Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Spotlight on Lilly Dulin

©Journal Communications/Jeff Adkins

As a young girl, Oak Ridge native Lilly Dulin enjoyed playing sports but admits she was “a little uncoordinated.” Then, at age 11, she discovered the sport of rowing, an activity that has propelled her forward both athletically and academically. 

Dulin is a member of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association’s Atomic Rowing Juniors Program, a competitive youth racing team for ages 13 to 19. She gained interest in the sport because her older sister had joined the program, then took to it like — well — a rower to water. In fact, Dulin has been so successful that she received a full athletic scholarship from Temple University in Philadelphia. 

“The culture of rowing, being both an individual sport on the indoor rowing machine and then a team sport where everyone pulls for each other, really kept me coming back season after season,” Dulin says. “The skills I’ve developed through rowing — like perseverance, self-discipline and communication — have helped me both in the classroom and in my everyday life,” she says. 

It hasn’t been easy. To begin with, it takes approximately 40 minutes for Dulin to travel from her home in Maryville to the Oak Ridge Rowing boathouse along Melton Lake, a trip that Dulin says “has been very much worth the drive.” 

In addition, she has had to constantly juggle the responsibilities of schoolwork with the training regimen needed for rowing. 

“I have had to develop time-management skills to stay on schedule,” Dulin says. “Throughout my day, I have to prioritize fueling my body and finding pockets of time to study.” 

But it all becomes oh so worthwhile during those moments when Dulin is out on the water, with the natural beauty of East Tennessee all around her. 

“When it comes to rowing, there is no place like home,” Dulin says. “Our team is fortunate to row every day at one of the top race venues in the country. We have 33 miles of flat water with gorgeous views.” 

©Journal Communications/Jeff Adkins

Dulin entered 2024 looking forward to participating in the Dogwood Junior Championship, an annual spring regatta hosted by Oak Ridge Rowing, and the USRowing Southeast Youth Championships, held this year in Sarasota, Florida. Then, her rowing course shifts this fall to Temple, an accomplishment she says was made possible by her years with the Atomic Rowing Juniors Program. 

“Our coaches create not only a culture of excellence but one of encouragement and accountability,” Dulin says. “Atomic Rowing has been an absolutely life-changing experience for me. It has provided me with opportunities to develop leadership qualities and to be my best self.”