Sport spotlight: rowing

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Photos: Oliver Todd

Now I am by no means at the peak of physical fitness, so the promise of a complete day-in-the-life of a university rower was a fairly daunting prospect. Highly demanding gym sessions, painfully early starts, brutal fitness exercises, back-breaking weight-lifting, extreme carb consumption and excruciating outings; the reputation of a rower’s regime had preceded it.

While I got off lightly with an 8am wake-up call, in true rowing style we hit the gym before breakfast. Between us there were six girls, two boys and coach Lara that attended the morning session.Not only was this the first time I had ever tried rowing, but never before had I even been in a gym! We started off on the ergs (rowing machines) and for the first half of the session all worked in unison; rowing at the same pace while gradually building up the exercise, starting with just arms, then arms and upper body, before bending legs for ¼, ½, ¾ then full reps. While I didn’t find this too gruelling, the technique and co-ordination was really hard to get right. “Keep your back straight”, “head up”, “knees apart”, “arms, body then legs”, “reach the 11 o’clock position” are just a few of the commands Lara sent in my direction.

Once fully warmed up we stood in a circle to group stretch before starting the fitness exercises. Using medicine balls and weights we worked mainly on our core, completing exercises in pairs such as sit-ups and press-ups for minute-long bursts. The fitness regime certainly lived up to my preconceptions of brutality. Amazingly, however, I still managed to keep up with most of the session. Admittedly, I managed several rather ungraceful falls off the Swiss ball and in the final exercise I collapsed in a sweaty, pained heap at the end when I was asked to do a another batch of gruelling sit-ups. Nevertheless, not only did I survive the session, but I was still able to walk at the end (although it didn’t take long before the pain started to kick-in as an unfamiliar sensation came over me; aching in my newly-found abs).

I was then given an hour off where I ate a huge greasy breakfast in order to keep my strength up for the rest of the day. I even tasted my first ever protein shake, which was mint-flavoured, and, as expected, absolutely repulsive. At 11.30 I then started the half-hour walk to the boat house for the afternoon’s outing on the Ouse.

During the walk down to the bank the cox, Eden, ran through some rowing terminology that would be directed down the boat through a microphone once on water. On arrival we entered the boat house; it wasn’t long before the other rowers joined us and the dawning realisation suddenly hit that I was to be in a boat with three other experienced male rowers! In attempt to make me less of a burden in the boat, I was given an extra session on the ergs before going out on the river.

The thing that most surprised and impressed me was the command and discipline of the cox. Eden gave no-nonsense commands not just on the water but even lifting the boat off the shelf, then to shoulder height, above the head, down the steps and into the water. I rowed on the left and was at bow position; the cox was behind me and she faced the direction of movement. At first it felt so unbelievably precariously balanced, perched on such a tiny seat in a skinny boat and just a few inches above the water. But once we set off there was so much to think about that falling in hardly crossed my mind. I had been told to wear tight clothing so it didn’t catch on the oar and I wore my trusty wellies, but it turns out that the boats have inbuilt, albeit revolting, fitted shoes.

With each boat costing around £20,000 the pressure was really on not to do anything stupid. I was warned not to stand in the bottom of the boat “otherwise you’ll go straight through it”. I was also warned that it was fairly likely that I could fall in, and while that would be fruitful for a witty and exciting article, the water was unappealing, cold and particularly wet. One of the rowers forewarned me that I should hold the oar under my arm when I’m not rowing, otherwise it could “smack you straight in the face and break your nose.” All in all, I felt like I was risking life and limb (not to mention any remaining dignity).

I was handed a paddle and then, before I knew what was happening, Eden gave the order and I took my first strokes on the water. It took a while for me to stop being woefully inadequate and after about ten minutes I started to get into the swing of rowing. Being the only female in the boat, and due to my general physical weakness, we practiced rowing on the water in pairs so the boat wouldn’t be imbalanced. I felt my technique getting better with every stroke and the rhythm and synchronisation improve with my crew.

I was taught how to feather, turning the paddle in the air during the stroke. We turned the boat round in the water then the front two men practiced a race start, which was absolutely terrifying! It is the fastest and most precarious experience as they powered the boat upstream and I was at the back, clutching my oar for dear life. After a hundred meters or so they stopped and the back two took over. At this point my whole body was starting to ache, but it was really invigorating once I’d got into the swing of things.

The session flew by and before I knew it we were back at the boat house, packing away the equipment and cleaning down the boat. Thanks to UYBC for organising the training session and outing especially for Vision; they have proven their worth as York Sport’s Club of the Year.