By: Courtney Suber

When you first hear the term ‘rowing’, what do you think of? A wooden canoe with maneuverable oars? A kayak with a long double ended paddle? Or do you think of the CORRECT association? A shell made of carbon fiber with rigors attached and oars made specifically to make that loud THUNK when you feather? I can assure you the last one doesn’t pop into many people’s heads.

            Rowing is a sport that is characterized by sitting in a boat and pushing through water using oars. The objective is to race, to be the one who finishes in first place. It’s a very technical and mentally tolling sport, and many thinks that it’s easy. “You just sit in the boat and move your arms back and forth to go faster, why wouldn’t it be?” Even I thought the same thing at a time. When I was told by a close friend “rowing is the hardest sport” I laughed at him and insisted it was in his head… as you can guess this judgement was extremely inaccurate.

            The sport focuses on technique above everything, and it is not as simple as moving back and forth on a seat. The stroke is composed of four major components. The catch, the drive, the finish, and the recovery. In the process of this you also have to focus on posture, pressure, handle height, etc. A perfect rowing stroke has a slow and timely recovery, level hands as you move up to the catch as well as good ratio, and sharp, quick pushback as you commit to the drive. Below is a picture from Sports Injury that demonstrates how the stroke is taken.

Still seem simple and easy? Allow me to put it into a bit more perspective.

            You’re on an erg (rowing machine) and you’ve committed to a 2k, which is about 200-250 times of the action represented in the diagram above. Your legs burn and you’re COMPLETELY out of breath… because you decided to fly and die in the first 1000m. Not a smart decision. Your coach is walking from erg to erg, and when he approaches you, he stops. You think he’ll go away, but instead he squats, and pulls his mask so that it’s away from his mouth and his voice won’t be muffled. Oh crap, he’s coxing you.

            It doesn’t sound bad in theory, but imagine that your legs are aching, you’re tired, and everything hurts. You honestly want to do steady state (rowing at a low stroke rate with a slower recovery) for the rest of the piece but you also really don’t want to disappoint your coach… and him yelling in your ear doesn’t make it any better. When coaches yell at you in general it’s a scary feeling, but rowing coaches are a whole other story. Usually being inspiring and prompting messages with an aggressive tone, it can cause a peak in adrenaline and motivation to finish the piece strong. I asked some rowers on my team what are some things coaches have said to them and how has it made them feel to get a good understanding:

            Tobi Ensor, a junior and high-ranking rower, told me that on the erg he’s used to hearing something like: “You’ve come this far why give up now,” and that it motivates him to push harder and keep going. Sam Brennan, a senior on the team, also conveyed a similar message. One of the most motivating sentiments he’s heard while on the erg goes like: “I trust you to lead the team and the boat.” Which instilled a lot of confidence into him afterwards.

            Rowing coaches are tough in their methodology and soft in their words, which is the right combination to make an athlete reach for the stars. Speaking in an aggressive tone triggers the ear to really listen, and when this is done and productive words like “Slow down the recovery,” or “Really push through the drive,” are spoken rowers have a spark that lights up inside of them.

Now my word-choice has been aggressive and precise… do you still think rowing may be an easy sport? 

Even through the difficulties though, rowing is a sport with extreme payoff and serotonin induced benefits.

            Although I am now a coxswain (the person who sits in front of the boat and steers as well as makes calls and gives motivation) for AJRA’s men’s team I was at a time a rower and find that I have an understanding of the feelings rowing can induce. Allow me to paint another picture for you…

            You’re still in this same 2k we pictured earlier, but it’s the last 200m. This is just about 20 strokes left and you’re so close to PRing. You’re going to be in pain whether you go hard here or not, so why not go out a winner in pain instead of a loser in pain? You decide to build the rate up until 100m, and at that last 100m you do a power 10 that leads you to finish the piece better than you were expecting. You’re tired, but you feel amazing. You’ve impressed your coach, your teammates, and most importantly, yourself. The rest of the day you’re in a good mood, and it can all be attributed to doing great on that 2k you almost gave up on.

            Invigorating is the word I would use for this sequence. And afterwards everyone congratulates you and gives you a pat on the back! 

            If this alone hasn’t convinced you, may I mention the amazing team atmosphere?

            I’ve made some of my closest friends through rowing. People who have seen me cry, people who have seen me have bad days on the water, people I’ve laughed with, even people I’ve spent holidays with. Because you’re with each other for so much time you’ll make lifelong friends that will stay with you longer than water from the hooch when you’re coxing in a four.

            Another extreme benefit of rowing is the opportunities and doors that can be opened through the sport. Many colleges offer bulky scholarships for the sport, and to say that you rowed in high school is quite the accomplishment. Considering that it’s an extreme team and leadership sport, many are impressed when they hear that one rows. Even the infamous Olivia Jade claimed rowing in her extreme façade which was her ticket into college. Her skillset being “awareness and organization.” While you shouldn’t seek out to be like Olivia Jade, ACTUALLY doing the sport can manifest amazing things for the future. Corin Wiggins is a coxswain for AJRA’s men’s team and runs the Instagram page “theblackcoxswain.” Through this page she’s been featured on large rowing pages and has even landed a spot on a podcast! Not only is the sport extremely enjoyable, but it manages to provide every rower with the opportunity to receive acknowledgement in one form or another.

            Now I have to of convinced you, I’ve discussed every nook and cranny of rowing. Overall, rowing is a very difficult but mentally rewarding sport that provides several benefits and opportunities. It’s not as easy as people say, but definitely worth the strife and hard work.