RegattaCentral

Ryszard "Ryz" Obuchowicz

Ryz became involved in rowing when his son, David, and daughter, Gracy, took up the sport at West Springfield High School in Springfield, Va. 

He started as a referee candidate in 1994 and advanced to be a Referee Clinician. Ryz was recognized by USRowing in 2007 as the recipient of the Julian Wolf Award for his contributions to rowing. 

Ryz's primary focus was on the scholastic level, particularly in the National Capital area regattas and the SRAA Championships but he also officiated at numerous USRowing championships and trials events. He was the Vice-President of the SRAA Board of Directors. He was a board member and the referee representative on the VASRA Board of Directors, and served several terms as President of the West Springfield Crew Boosters. 

He was the VASRA Regatta Director 2011-2013. As the referee liaison, he coordinated spring and summer schedules for all sprint regattas in the Baltimore/DC area. As a Clinician, he was involved with both recruiting and training referees and his efforts led to an increase in both the recruitment of new referees and the participation of previously licensed referees.

He passed away 24 October, 2014.