Nina Blazevic ‘25 Recruiting Profile

Personal Statement

HI, my name is Nina Blazevic, I live in England and have been rowing since I was 12 years old (year 7). I primarily did the learn to row for Kingston Rowing Club, however there was no space at the time. Therefore I first started rowing at Thames Rowing Club in Putney. This was a great experience for me at such a young age as I was the youngest one there rowing with people aged 18 and above, this built my confidence as a rower. However, this club was far away from my house and I decided to travel to another rowing club more conveniently located closer to my house. I then started rowing for Twickenham Rowing Club. This was also great as there were people my age and it helped me focus on developing my skills and technique on the water and on land. Furthermore, when I reached year 8 (12 years old), my current club - Kingston Rowing Club - had openings for my age group, I then decided to move to that club permanently. Since then my strive for competitiveness has grown and I have become more comfortable and confident as a rower as I have had many great coaches helping me. 

I aspire to become a Sports Psychologist when I am older and help big sports teams in the future, therefore I am looking for a University that offers a degree in Sports Psychology or Psychology. I am also a very keen athlete, I have been a part of many teams (inside and outside of school). For example, I did swimming competitively for ten years before rowing and got to a regional level at the age of 11. I also compete in Athletics for school and a club and am the reigning champion for my borough in the events - 300m, 800m and high jump. For the school I am part of the Netball and Basketball teams, my basketball team are reigning London youth game champions for two years running. I am also Captain of the Athletics and Netball team for my school. I have always been an active child doing many different sports such as dancing (ballet, tap and modern), horse-riding and tennis. 

However, Rowing is the sport that has called out to me the most and I enjoy it enough for me to pursue it for more years to come. I have had many amazing opportunities in rowing this year and last year. My crew (a sculling quad) went to Henley Women's Regatta and were one boat off qualifying, I also got to row for the Women catagory as a WJ16 at Henley Royal Regatta and it was a great experience to row that course. In July 2022, my coxed quad won the Bronze medal at the British Championships, held in Nottingham, for the age group WJ15 4x+. This year (July 2023) I competed in two boats at the British Championships held in Scotland and my sweeping four held fourth place in the A final and my quad came first place in the B final. I also won Gold at Kingston International Regatta in a sweeping four in July 2023. 

The sport of Rowing has helped me in many ways such as relieving stress, making friends and created the healthiest competitive side in me. I enjoy every race and the diversity of 9 sessions I get in my week. I row twice a week in the early morning and an early morning weights session in our gym at 5:30am. 

I am looking for a University and a club who will develop my skill and where I can be offered a scholarship for my achievements.

Thank you.