David Brehaut speaks with 2024 Ballarat Sports Hall of Fame inductee Katie Foulkes (rowing)
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00:00It's a lovely moment, thank you so much. Feeling really humbled and very flattered to be recognised after all these years.
00:09It's a lovely moment.
00:11You were part of a very successful rowing regime a couple of decades ago there.
00:17You probably don't like to be reminded about that.
00:19That was a little while ago.
00:21What got you into rowing?
00:24So I went to Ballarat Grammar and I was in Year 7 from memory.
00:30And the PE teacher at the time said, would you like to come down to the boat sheds?
00:35They were looking for this thing called a cox, which is the role that I was in.
00:39And they said the requirements for that role were to be small, which I was in those days, and to be smart.
00:46And I was on an academic scholarship.
00:48So they felt that I fit the bill.
00:51And off I went and loved it.
00:54As a coxswain, you really control the boat in many ways.
00:58How did you adapt to that?
01:00Ah, it comes naturally. I see it in my girls now.
01:03They can run the show.
01:05But yeah, I worked really hard, as we all did, from a perspective of leadership development and the technical nous and coaching skills and all of those bits and pieces.
01:17And I think it was that learning that kept me in.
01:21Got you engaged.
01:22It got me completely engaged, working out how to work with people and help them thrive and go fast.
01:28Head of the Lake is one thing and Olympic Games is another.
01:31Tell us about that journey.
01:33Well, it's interesting.
01:34I will say I retired from rowing in Year 10 because I'd won Head of the Lake and I thought I'd reached the pinnacle of my sport.
01:41Only to find out years later that there were a few more layers than the local Head of the Lake.
01:47In some ways, so many similarities, though.
01:50You get to sit on a start line that you are well prepared for with some of your closest mates.
01:56It's just that the crowd's a bit bigger.
01:59The boats go a bit faster.
02:01But it's still some of the same principles and still some of the same love of getting to be with people and perform.
02:11And finally, how do you reflect on those days competing at the highest level in any sport?
02:17I reflect really fondly.
02:20We had our ups and downs like many sporting teams do.
02:24But what I notice now, 20 years on, is that my crewmates are still some of my closest friends.
02:32And it would not change that for the world.
02:35To have those experiences together and travel the world, I feel very, very grateful.