#25 - Trying not to talk about rowing and talking about it anyways

It's hard to have a conversation without mentioning ROWING. It always somehow, some way sneaks into just about every conversation.

'Hey, did you go on vacation this summer?' 

- No, I was rowing.

'Oh, did you even get a chance to go away somewhere for the weekend?'

- Not really, most of our races are on the weekend.

'Hey, we're going out thursday night for some drinks, it's going to be crazy!'

- Sorry can't,  I have practice early in the morning.

'Are you going to make it to my birthday this year, the party is August 7th?'

- No, that's during Canadian Henley. Just like every other year I'll be away racing...sorry!

(you show up to a party)

'OMG! So glad you could make it, don't you have rowing? Do you still do that?'

- Oh hey, yes I do still do that and tomorrow is my day off. 

'Oh you just graduated! Do you have a job yet?'

- Noooo, just still rowing!

'So are dating anyone these days?'

- Well, rowing takes up a lot of my time...soo not really. 

Wearing Rowing Canada socks will only lead to more conversations about rowing!

Even when you try to deflect the conversation it always somehow, some way reverts back to rowing. Mostly because rowing is a huge part of your life and the social circles that you run in are either filled with rowers or everyone knows you as the rower. 

The truth of the matter is, if you can't stop talking about rowing it's clearly something you are passionate about that you enjoy doing and because of this your inability to avoid talking about rowing is....

Awesome! 

#24 Recovering from an epic fail

Over 2000m anything can happen - you can have a bad start, another boat can row in to you, you can catch a crab, or hit buoys. In more extreme cases equipment can malfunction, or you can flip.

2000m is a long race, there's always the opportunity to come back. Mistakes happen, forget about them, and keep on going. Use that burst of adrenaline to make up what you've lost. Because it is possible to go from first, to DFL (dead fucking last), to first.

Awesome!

#23 - 396 days until 2012 Summer Olympics

It's the dream of many rowers to go to the Olympics and win Gold. How will you prepare?

Check out this video made by Canadian lightweight rower Cam Sylvester. The video sheds light on how much time and work it really takes to get to that Olympic level.

Inside The Olympic Dream from cameron sylvester on Vimeo.

Rowing, it's more than just your day job - it's your life.

Awesome!

#22 Having someone else load the trailer for you

Getting boats to a regatta is a process. The driving there is the easy part, getting your equipment and boats properly loaded on the trailer is the tricky part. When taking a lot of boats, it's like a puzzle and possibly the most annoying puzzle you've ever done.

You would think by making a map of where the boats will go on the tailer would make things go smoothly. But, as we know, people aren't perfect and boats get left out of the map, boats end up being wider than anticipated or there's always that one crew that realizes they've forgotten to load their riggers on a fully loaded trailer.

What should be about a 1 hour job can easily turn into a 2 hour struggle. However, there are those times when you are one of the last races of the day. The last thing you want to do is load all the boats after a hard race. As you approach the trailer, you see all the boats are already loaded and yours is the last one that needs to go on. Thanks to your team mates everything is all set to go and your boat is last piece needed for the puzzle.

Awesome!

It's a team effort!

Don't forget to strap...There's a reason why this boat is named Road Rash!

#21 Waking up before your alarm and getting to go back to sleep

Despite the fact we often tell others "Oh, it's not that bad! You get used to waking up that early in the morning", as rowers we know that's somewhat of a bluff. The reality of the situation is if we had the option to wake up later we would. We'd take anything, even an extra 15 minutes!

The standard practice time for competitive Canadian rowers is 5:30am. The reasons being, water conditions are often better and there are zero scheduling conflicts.

Your typical wake up time is something around 4:40am plus a 5 minute snooze window. And for those nights when you wake up in the middle of your sleep and look over at your clock to realize that it's only 3:40am and you have ONE more whole hour of sleep, you put your head back down on your pillow and think...

Awesome!

Early morning practices - you never miss a sunrise!

Fall Rowing - 7am and the sun has just risen. 

#20 You miss hitting a buoy by an inch

At every club there are always obstacles on the water. Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don't.

Once you get comfortable with the course, it's typical to get a little lazy with your bowing.  Being the overconfident person that you are you "forget" to check your surroundings and allow yourself to get caught up focusing on your stroke. Recipe for disaster.

You take one half-hearted look over your port shoulder - nothing. You continue rowing and call in your power piece. 3 strokes in and whoosh the buoy appears out of nowhere just skimming the end of your blade. Your heart skips a beat at the thought of almost disaster. Thankfully the rowing gods were on your side this time, and you managed to miss destroying your boat by an oar length.

AWESOME.

In the moment, sometimes you just forget to check your course...

#19 - Row New York

For those that know rowing, it's expensive and often not the most accessible of sports, especially for youth.  We came across Row New York and were inspired by what they do and how they help improve the lives of inner-city youth who would otherwise never be exposed to rowing.

Row New York is a unique non-profit organization that empowers youth from New York City's under-resourced communities to pursue excellence in all facets of their lives by combining competitive rowing and individualized academic support.

It was founded in 2002 on the belief that a sport improves physical and mental health and teaches the invaluable lessons of teamwork, tenacity, and commitment to self and others; all things that should be available to the youth of New York City.

So far, 100% of all graduates have gone on to college, with half of them on rowing scholarships. Pretty impressive!

Row New York is about competitive rowing, academics and having fun, making this non-profit organization the definition of AWESOME.

Next time you are in NY go and check them out!
To find out more information on how you can help or become a part of RNY, see their website: http://www.rownewyork.org/ 

#18 Finally being able to row after an injury

Getting injured sucks.  It's the same in any sport, not having ability train, perform and do what you love to do is the last place any athlete wants to be. All goals are put on hold, while your competition is out there getting better and faster. Pete Sampras puts it perfectly in his book A Champion's Mind; "It's a very depressing experience, and it takes all your willpower and faith not to sink into that bad place, mentally and physically."

Just like training, while injured you need to set goals for recovery. How long do you allow yourself to do nothing and recover? When do you plan on being back doing your sport?, etc. You need something to keep occupied and to keep your mind focused on something other than the unfortunate situation you are in.

The one thing you MUST remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Often coming out of an injury you know more about where you went wrong and where you can improve. Not everything is lost and you can come back stronger. The best example is of Silken Laumann, coming back from her horrific leg injury to winning an Olympic Bronze medal 10 weeks later. It's about perseverance, determination and never giving up on your goals despite any adversity. In the inspirational words of Justin Bieber...Never Say Never!

Awesome!

Boat strapping gone wrong....sooo wrong!
3 weeks after CK's injury she went on to win a Silver medal at the Ontario University Championship's!

#17 Teammates

These are the people you wake up for in the early hours of the morning. The people who challenge you, support you and inspire you to be faster. They are with you through the good and bad, thick and thin. They are your second family.

It all starts with having a common goal. Day after day, you train together in hopes of achieving that goal. You get to know who your teammates truly are and who they are as athletes. You build an unshakeable trust amongst one another and when it comes to that point where you have to go above and beyond there isn't a doubt in your mind because you know everyone will take it to that next level. Your teammates are the people you fight for when you feel like you have nothing left to give.

When you finally reach that goal, success is that much sweeter when you have someone to share it with. And you wouldn't want to share it with any other people in the world. The fact that you will fight and die for these people makes teammates...

Awesome!

Go Team(mates)!

#16 Seeing boats flip

Let's be honest, nobody's perfect. Bad strokes can happen, and sometimes by sheer fate they happen all together. You try to save it, but the second that oar slips out of one of your hands, you have to succumb to the fact that you're going in. Our only advice is....just hold on!

Even if it's intentional, it's still pretty funny.

Awesome!

#15 Rowing Personalities...Every Club Has One

We're not quite sure what it is about the sport of rowing, but it seems to attract some very unique personalities. Every club has them, they are normally a constant source of entertainment, frustration and are usually the butt of most jokes. Below are the typical rowing characters that you love to hate:

1) The Crazy One - This is person is typically known around the club for their unusual social and obsessive behavior, their unexpected outbursts, their bizarre outlook on the sport of rowing, and their complete disregard for their surroundings, which leads to many damages. Despite the crazy person's flaws, they have the ability to unleash their craziness in a race and because of that you want this person in your boat.

2) The D-Bag - This person is smart, good looking and unfortunately a TOTAL D-BAG. You'll typically find this person claiming to train way more than they actually are, lying about their erg scores, trying to sleep with any girl that will have them and always talking about themselves. They are a cocky and egotistical person, who will not help others and can't own up to their own mistakes. They are the know-it-all of every boat and yet have no results to back it up. From time to time you take sympathy upon this person because you see a good side to them and then immediately regret it when they live up to who they are by doing something D-Bag-esque.

3) The Over Controlling Master - This is the grumpy older person that you go out of your way to avoid. They impose ridiculous saftey rules, are always scrutinizing your every move, often think really old, heavy boats are perfectly fine for racing, and they don't like change. These people have been around the sport for so long, therefore they must know EVERYTHING. However, if you do get on their good side they will go out of their way to help you and can be quite nice.

4) The Overly Ambitious Novice - This person has never actually experienced real rowing or actually knows what it takes to be a good rower, however they believe that in a few weeks time they will be able to master the sport of rowing and win a few championship races in the 1x. This person frustrates the hell out of you and all you can do is wait patiently for their 'wake-up call', when they realize they actually don't know what they're doing.

5) The Negative Nancy - This person complains about everything, they are very unmotivating, not enthusiastic and the boat is somehow always tipping on their side. They are never willing to spend the time to get better and often bring down the crew morale. You wonder why this person rows because they seem so miserable doing it.

6) The No Brain - They are physically very muscular and pretty strong rowers. It is pretty difficult to hold a conversation with this person because they never seem to have a thought running through their head. They don't normally do much outside of the rowing world. They have a high pain tolerance because the thought of being in pain never really registers in their brain. You tell them to go and without question they go.

It's sometimes hard to live with them, but things would be so boring without them. And because of that we think all the different rowing personalities are.....

Awesome!

#14 Nap Time!

Three words that define a rower - Sleep, eat, row.

Nothing is worse than having to row in the morning with only 4 hours of sleep. Sleep is essential for recovery, however sleep deprivation is common amongst rowers. If it isn't the early morning practices, it's the intense training that drains all of your energy.

Sitting anywhere other than in a boat, whether it's school or late night movies, if the material isn't riveting it's near impossible to stay awake. Your eyes feel heavy and you feel your body aches. Giving in to a nap is hardly a fight.

With a busy schedule you have to optimize your nap time. You take it when you can get it. Whether it's under a trailer, in a stretcher or anywhere with some fresh grass and shade, these are all perfectly legitimate places to nap.

Away at regattas, it's common for rowers to schedule nap time together. They snuggle up with their roommate for some quality nap time. It's team bonding on a whole different level.

Awesome!

 

Snuggle Buddies - The Movie!

#13 - Getting the perfect spot in the boat house to store your boat

Just like parking spots, some racks in the boathouse are way better than others.

Ideally you want your rack to be at shoulder height and away from any areas of possible chaos. You want your boat to be clear of all boats that are used by either novice or highschool crews, as they often don't have the perception of where their rigor lies amongst the hulls of other boats. And the closer your boat is to the water, the better.

Prime location in a boathouse is hard to come by, especially when you aren't 6'5" and you need assistance reaching most of the higher racks. Getting that prime spot makes life a little easier getting the down to the water and a lot easier after a hard practice.

The perfect spot is just one of those simple pleasures in a rower's life and because of that, it is.....

Awesome!

Impending doom on a pully. One of the more sketchy spots to 'hang' a new 1x.

#12 - A Good Coxswain

Crew boats, they are only as fast as their coxswain can steer straight.

Just like rowers, some coxies are better than others. When you find a good cox life for a rower is made much easier.

These talented smaller folk with big voices are often overlooked and underestimated by many. They stand quietly beside their crews while most of the glory gets placed on the athletes. They are the care takers of the group, making sure everyone is properly clothed and adequately hydrated and fed. They often appear at regattas with some form of baked deliciousness for the athlete's post-race. They are the masters of race plans, leaving the athletes with little to think about other than pulling hard.

UTRC's finest KM.

A good cox naturally gains the respect of its athletes and without question us rowers obey and try to soak in every little word that comes out of their mighty mouths. They are the most commanding personal chauffeur you will ever have!

Spot the cox.

Awesome!

Special shout out to C&L's favorite coxies - KR, AZ, JA, KM and SHT you guys are awesome all on your own!

#11 Crew breakfast after practice

Who SERIOUSLY doesn't like breakfast? Especially with crew mates and you're starving after a tough workout. Going to breakfast has become somewhat of a tradition and part of it is because it's such a perfectly timed meal for rowers.

It's our chance to relax and laugh about all things rowing (despite trying to not talk about rowing) - new found rowing love (who slept with who!), new good looking rowers at your club, latest erg scores, boat movers and boat ruiners, coxswains getting boob jobs, that time you almost flipped during your race warm-up, that time you almost flipped during the race, that time you almost flipped at the end of the race and that time you actually flipped.

Rowing gossip is endless, but the greatest part of breakfast is getting to know other rowers off the water. It's one of the best forms of crew bonding and a great way to learn about their experiences, which is something you can't do in the boat.

Bacon, eggs, and pumpkin pancakes - the perfect compliment to any workout.

Awesome!

Head of the Charles breakfast tradition at the Breakfast Club

 

Top Rower's Breakfast in Toronto

- Auntie's and Uncle's (where we are known as 'The Rowers')

- George Street Diner (try their soda bread...awesome!)

- Morning Glory

- Cherry Street Diner (the closest option to HBC)

- Red Room (best bang for your buck, 2 for 1 breakfasts)
- Lakeview Diner (order the Ossington Massive)

#10 People who erg to tone their arms

Rowing is a leg sport. Don't get me wrong your arms need to be strong, but in no way should your arms be taking most of the workload.

We can see how you would think that this is an appropriate upper body exercise, but from one rower to a non-rower, you're better off doing pull-ups and push-ups. One, you'll save yourself from looking ridiculous and two, you'll save your back. 

Despite the video's hilarity and our criticism, these little things provide endless entertainment for a rower, and because of that erging to tone your arms is...

Awesome!

#9 Australian Men's 4-

This is more for the ladies, but men can appreciate their good looks and extreme athleticism...Something to aspire to.

Rowing is an amateur sport and it's not common to see the athletes getting all dolled up for a photo shoot, but when they do they make it look easy and pretty damn good.

Awesome!

#8 Novice Rowing

We all have to start somewhere, and in rowing that somewhere is not a pretty place. As a novice rower, you have no concept of good set, good technique or anything good for that matter, and it's common to think you are much better than you actually are. It's all about the learning curve, being coachable, staying positive during those days where the boat just can't get set, and remembering to have a little fun because in the grand scheme of things you're a novice rower and have a long way to go.

Fire and water don't mix.

And for all of those experienced rowers out there, share your knowledge and be encouraging towards those novice rowers because just remember...at one point you sucked too.

 

Encouraging laughter from the coach boat.

Awesome!

#7 Urban Dictionary's Definitions of Rowing

Urban dictionary knows what they're talking about.

1) The sport that consists of 1 to 8 people in which you row a boat with one oar each. It is extremely difficult and takes lots of different abilities. Most people think it involves only arms, which is so far from the truth. Most of the terminology can be related to sex, like the cox, crabs, and phrases like "In rowing, the catch is aggressive, the hands quick, the slide smooth, the drive powerful, and the oar is always hard." It is mainly a collegiate sport, but has been practiced around the world for ages.

2) A sport where people race boats backwards on water. It is arguably the most physically intense sport out there; it is not for the weak.

3) Rowing is the only sport to originate as a form of capital punishment. I still can't figure out why I like it so much.

Awesome!

#6 Erg Faces

There's nothing glamorous about erging. There's a love-hate relationship between rowers and the erg and we've yet been able to capture the love on camera. Instead, we've found these mixed emotions:

Over thinking it.

Anger.

SS seems to be enjoying this a little too much. Not acceptable.

Addicted to pain. Erging junkie.

Just plain Nasty.

Tears of pain. 

AND THE BEST ERG FACE GOES TO.........

Too scared to see his splits.

 

Possessed by the ERG

 No explanation needed. Erg Faces....

Awesome!

#5 Your tape stays on your hands for the whole row

Spring rowing = blisters = painful hands

Future hand models.

Fresh blisters are ugly, and can be extremely painful to row with, but that's a pretty lame excuse not to row. Best solution? Medical tape. 

Your last tape job lasted through warm up and you ended up suffering through your main set, awkwardly holding your oar handles. You learned your lesson and this time you spend a good 5 minutes meticulously taping up your hands, and hope you've figured out the perfect taping technique for the nasty blister that's about to open up at the base of your middle finger. A good tape job will last through a whole practice letting you focus on your workout instead of how painful your hands are.

You look down at your hands just before you start your last piece and your tape is still intact.

Awesome!

#4 Spandex

You know you're a rower when the amount of spandex in your closet starts to out-number the amount of  your normal day civilian clothes. Rowing changes your life in many ways, particularly your wardrobe.

Every sport has their so called uniform. In rowing you need tight fitting clothes, making spandex a rower's best friend. You can't escape it, everyone wears it, even the middle aged men with beer bellies.

It's the only acceptable clothing in rowing as it allows you to move freely, where baggy clothing and your everyday sweats get in the way. Pretty much half of what the sport of rowing is all about, is showing off you jacked and uneven tanned body, what better way to do this than in spandex.

When you first start,  you think "No way am I ever going to wear that." Before you know it you are wearing spandex head to toe and you realize that it isn't so bad (and secretly love it). All the 'cool kids' are wearing it and let's be honest your butt doesn't looks to shabby either.

Awesome!

100% badass, yet completely safe

                                       

#3 The "Inches" Video

Rowing....It's all about inches.

It's one of the first rowing videos many new rowers watch (safety videos not included!)  and one of the most viewed rowing videos on Youtube. It's something every rower can relate to whether you're a National rower or Novice.  We all know what it's like to go that extra inch and succeed, but the real test is what you do when you fall short? It comes down to perseverance, no matter what, win or lose, you keeping on fighting for that extra inch.

Every race is about inches, every stroke is about inches. At the end of the day, it's just a game of inches and "It's the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch."

Awesome!

#2 Perfectly flat water

A sailor will never understand that one of the best feelings in the world is arriving at the club to a perfectly flat body of water. There's no wind, the water is like glass, and you feel as though you need to take advantage of these conditions. You have the opportunity for perfect puddles, and perfect rowing. Missing that 9am class for another row seems like a fair trade.

Some rowers are lucky enough to row on smaller lakes, or rivers, that rarely get more than a little chop when the wind picks up. At our club, when the winds are even somewhat high, we can get full white-cap waves. Most days we experience some chop or rollers,  so we have a huge appreciation for those perfectly flat water days.

There's something about flat water that is so calming. You don't have to feel like you are fighting with the rough water or wind and you can completely relax on every stroke, getting a fully loaded catch each time.

Sitting in your boat on the flat water, looking out on to the horizon, you feel the peacefulness of nature that surrounds you. This is one of the reasons why you fell in love with the sport.

Awesome!

Hanlan Boat Club at Dawn - Photo by: Caro.

#1 First row after a long indoor winter season

Erging can be fun, but let's be honest, it can also NOT be fun. We erg over the winter to get stronger, maintain our sport specific muscles, and so that on the glorious day of your first row...you don't die!

Getting out of bed at 5:30am on your first day back on the water isn't hard. You get down to the club, see all of the familiar faces, rig the boats you spent many hours in, and set out on your first row. Smiles are everywhere.

You take your first stroke, and it is unlike any other stroke on the erg. You move forward (or backwards, however you see it). After months of stationary training, this is exciting.  You feel the water on the back of the blade, the send of the boat (hopefully), and a few wobbles side to side as the feel of the boat starts to come back. You are now rowing, not erging.

Awesome!

Rowing is Awesome

In the sport of rowing, there are so many different components that contribute to its awesomeness, which makes it hard to answer the common question "Why do you row?". 

We row for so many different reasons and hope by highlighting all of rowing's awesomeness, we can help answer this question. 

As we keep posting, we hope that all of you can share with us why you think rowing is awesome, and by doing this we can strengthen the rowing community and build the sport of rowing so others can experience why rowing is awesome.