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- Title:
- 1992-1994
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- Sports Played:
- Women's Crew & Swim Athlete
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- Induction Year:
- 2023
Bio
The hall of fame story of Heidi (Schetter) Nelson goes way beyond rowing. After transferring to OCC after a brief rowing stint at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Nelson wanted to continue her rowing career with the Pirates … but at the time there was no women’s program. So, she worked out with the men’s team and helped lead the OCC women’s swim team to a state championship that season. With others wanting to create and compete in a women’s crew program, 1993 saw Title IX mandate that OCC have a separate team for women’s crew and Nelson helped put the Pirates on the women’s crew map. With local support from throughout the community, Nelson was a part of the first-ever program that started with a pair of fall wins at the Long Beach Christmas Regatta as well as the North American Rowing Federation Newport Autumn Rowing Festival in 1992. In addition to her competing for crew, Nelson, who is legally blind, also competed in the Paralympics for swimming while at OCC. She continued to push for rowing knowledge, travelling to some of the top women’s crew programs around to find the keys to success. Following her time at OCC, Nelson attended UC Berkeley to row and in 1994, she became a rower on the women’s National Team in 1994. OCC women’s crew might not be here today if not for the persistence and dedication of Heidi (Schetter) Nelson.
