Amalie and Carly Millerd competed for Bainbridge Island and University of Iowa Women’s Rowing for nearly the last decade.

However, Carly said the two of them, “whoopsie daisy our way into competitive rowing.”

Carly, who is two years older than Amalie, began rowing her freshman year of high school in 2011. She was planning to compete in lacrosse in the spring but needed a fall sport to stay active. When her friend insisted Carly join rowing, she was hesitant. However, her mindset changed immediately.

“I really liked it enough that I don’t want to play lacrosse in the spring,” Carly said. “I want to continue rowing and see where it takes me.”

Amalie did not see herself competing in the sport until she was injured heading into her freshman year of high school. “I was intending to play soccer in the fall in high school and another sport in the spring but I broke my collarbone, and it didn’t heal properly,” she said. She had surgery that November and couldn’t play spring sports. “I got into rowing by default because I couldn’t play contact sports.”

The sisters became part of the lucrative rowing culture on BI. “The Bainbridge club is very welcoming compared to other clubs,” Carly said. “It is a team-oriented sport so it is engrained at BIR (BI Rowing) more than other high school clubs.”

Amalie added: “I’m like 5-foot-11 so they were excited about another tall friend because it helped to be tall and athletic. Everyone is trying to learn it together, and there is such a steep learning curve.”

After high school, Carly wanted to continue to row in college. “There were two coaches who were alumni from the University of Iowa and ended up at BIR,” Carly said. “The initial process was that anything in the middle of the country is out. I refuse to consider the Midwest as an option because you think there is nothing there, which is not true.”

Carly changed her mind after taking her official visit. She chose Iowa because the team was very welcoming, the atmosphere of the university was amazing, and she enjoyed the culture of the Midwest.

When Carly left for Iowa City, she left Amalie behind for the first time in their lives. “We were not on the same team but had the same trajectory in soccer, lacrosse and rowing so we would always overlap,” Carly said.

Although they were close, they saw benefits in distancing themselves for a couple of years. “It was also nice to create my own identity because we were always paired together. I had a chance to grow and create my own space before she got there.”

Amalie added: “It was nice to be a separate person and not have to worry about what she was doing and be the best person I can be here. I can focus on myself and go as fast as I humanly can.”

When it was time for Amalie to go to college, she considered Iowa and the University of Minnesota. “I was at Minnesota’s homecoming weekend so I got to see Kesha in concert, and they put on a show,” Amalie said. “Iowa’s official visit wasn’t even that good but I loved the team and the boathouse a lot. I loved the small college town and everything about Iowa. It becomes your personality.”

Amalie was one of two recruits joining Iowa in 2017. Amalie and Carly’s paths were different. Amalie rowed port, the left side, while Carly rowed on the right or starboard side.

Although they bounced around the lineups during their career, Amalie usuallay found herself in the second varsity eight boat while Carly was between second varsity eight and varsity four.

The events start with first varsity eight, which is the eight best rowers. Then, the following are second varsity eight, first varsity four and novice eight. In the fall, they would row around 5,000-6,000 meters while the spring was typically half of the distance.

Since they had different paths, their careers had unique bumps. “I’m only 5- foot-7 which makes me a short rower and never thought I would be first varsity eight,” Carly said. “There were challenges, and a lot of it was that I was not mentally prepared for the stress of an NCAA sport.”

Carly’s top finish was when her squad placed sixth at the Big 10 Championships her senior year, leading Iowa to a fourth-place finish. In addition, she earned Academic All-Big 10.

Amalie’s path was different because of injuries and the pandemic. “It was all over the place,” Amalie said. “I got to go to NCAAs freshman and sophomore years, and we finished 12th. In my sophomore year, I tore my meniscus so I had knee surgery. As soon as I was cleared, we were shut down for COVID. I came back senior year and gave it my best shot but I tore my meniscus my senior year, too.”

Amalie’s top moments included winning an NCAA race and placing 15th at the NCAAs with her second varsity eight squad.

The Millerds said they learned some important lessons from rowing that have stuck with them over the years. “I learned about time management in high school and college,” Amalie said. “Also, routines and being dependable as a human. If you don’t show up and don’t tell anybody, everybody is screwed. Up to eight people cannot go out on the boat so accountability is huge.”

Carly added, “While you are rowing, you have to be disciplined in managing yourself in the boat and life outside of rowing.”

Rowing also gave the Millerds a chance to get the best education experience possible. Amalie earned a master’s degree in education and has begun teaching eighth-grade science, while Carly is going for her doctorate at Iowa while being a graduate research and teaching assistant.

“I wouldn’t change any of my decisions,” Carly said. “If I didn’t go to Iowa, I wouldn’t have gotten all these opportunities and sincerely appreciate all the moments and forks in the road that led me to where I am and who I am.”

Amalie believes she can be a role model for her middle school students, especially girl athletes. “It’s cool to tell the kids in classrooms and tell people as a female in sports and a teacher about my journey because they don’t see that,” Amalie said. “They see football players but never female athletes so seeing me shows they can do it too, and they have opportunities if you look for them.”