Rio Rowing Coaches
Morten Larsen - Intro to Rowing, Private Lessons, Competitive Crew Sweep (men)
email Morten
Kristine Malcolm - Competitive Crew Sweep (women)
email Kristine
Pete Cannia - Competitive Crew Sculling, Private Lessons
email Pete
Emily Burkett - Fitness Rowing & Sweep, Private Lessons
email Emily
Read more about our Rio Rowing Coaches
Morten Larsen
"Apart from being a wonderful sport in itself- the excitement of a regatta or the serenity of a calm lake at sunrise - rowing is excellent full body cross training for whatever other sport or activity you participate in."
Morten Larsen started his rowing career in 1982 as a junior competitive sculler for Hobro Roklub in Denmark, finishing 7th in Nationals, and making the podium at Nordics and other major Danish regattas from 1982-1985. While still in Denmark, Morten organized and participated in many long distance endurance rows. He also coached junior novices and rowed recreationally with DSR in Copenhagen. Morten began his Rio Rowing coaching career in 2000; he has attained a US Rowing Level II coaching certification. Morten rows competitively for RSCR as well as coaches; he has raced for the club in San Diego's Fall Classic and several regattas on Tempe Town Lake. In addition to rowing, Morten enjoys soccer, both as a player and a coach; he has coached youth soccer for about 10 years and managed adult teams. Other pastimes include running marathons, biking and hiking. He's also a certified flight instructor. Morten and his wife Linda own Class Fitness, a class-based workout studio in South Scottsdale that uses erging (indoor rowing) as a cross-training method. He and Linda have a son (21) and two daughters (16 & 13). A very busy guy, Morten also works for American Traffic Solutions in shipping and inventory.
Kristine Malcolm
Kristine's rowing career started in 2002 at Rio Salado RC. She had heard about rowing from a work colleague and thought it sounded interesting so she took a Rio learn-to-row class. Since those early days, she's competed for Rio Rowing at all of the regattas that the club has entered -- including Masters Nationals and the Head of the Charles. In 2006, Kristine also started attending camps and rowing nationally with Masters Coaching, competing at Canadian Henley and FISA World Masters Regatta. Kristine's other rowing highlights include winning Regionals in the W4+, standing on the podium at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival (NARF), and medals from many Desert Sprints and Hot Head regatta races on our home lake. Kristine has attained Level One coaching certification through US Rowing. Off the water, Kristine has been a partner in a teambuilding company for the last 7 years; previously, she worked for 16 years as a corporate operations director. She's married to a very supportive husband for 16 years and has two boys ages 9 and 13.
Pete Cannia
"Being able to compete on a championship level is primarily about believing in yourself. Competing successfully is about attitude, and attitude is entirely in your mind... good technique doesn't hurt either."
Peter has spent most of his life involved in the sport of Rowing. A San Francisco native, he was taught to row by his father, a member of the South End Rowing Club. Pete rowed in high school during the mid-1970's. After a brief hiatus, he returned to rowing in 1996, sculling and coaching for the Lake Merritt Rowing Club’s Masters program in Oakland, CA. At Lake Merritt, Pete also taught sculling and led group workouts for competitive crews and scullers. After relocating to Arizona in 2002, Pete joined Rio Salado RC as a member and has held numerous coaching positions with the club and other local rowing programs. He now serves as Rio Rowing’s Competitive Crew Sculling coach, and teaches private lessons for the club. Pete was also Head Coach of Tempe Town Lake's Junior Crew before accepting a position with Xavier College Prep Crew in Fall 2011. He also instructs for the City of Tempe Parks and Recreation Rowing Program. Pete currently holds a US Rowing Level III coaching certification. In addition to coaching, Pete, a consummate competitor, has medaled in local, regional, and national US Rowing Masters events -- including the 2000, 2004 and 2006 Master's National Championships; he also won 3 sculling medals at the 2007 Masters National Championships. And, for three consecutive years, Pete has won the North Tahoe Classic. Most recently, he captured gold in the Men's Lightweight Master 1x at the 2011 Long Beach Rowing Association’s Christmas Sprints.
Emily Burkett
"Rowing is a simple sport that rewards those who work hard."
Emily began her rowing career in 1996 at Community Rowing in Boston, MA while in high school. During her school years, she rowed to six US Rowing Club national championships, then went on to row for the University of California, Berkeley, winning the 2004 Crew Classic and the NCAA rowing title in 2005. After graduating, Emily also coached Berkeley High School crew for two years. Upon moving to Phoenix, Emily began coaching ASU women's crew and rowing with Tempe Town Lake Rowing, winning a US Rowing Masters' Nationals gold in 2009. She joined Rio Salado RC coaching staff this year, sharing her rowing passion and knowledge with Rio rowers in Team Boats and Fitness Rowing classes. To supplement her rowing workouts, Emily enjoys running relays. Off the water, she works as an account manager for an independent insurance broker. Her younger sister, now a law student, also rows, so mom & dad travel from Massachusetts to a lot of East Coast regattas to cheer on their rowing daughters.
