The
Beauty of Rowing
The act of
rowing with relation to sports is defined simply as the following:-To pull an oar as part of a racing crew.
-To race against an opposing crew by rowing.
What the term means to an oarsman is more difficult to define. Rowing is much more than just moving a boat along the water to a rower. The physicality of the sport is one thing, but the mental struggle involved with the sport is also something to consider when a rower is asked to define the term 'rowing.' A factor in one of the most successful things that a rower can feel is just to finish a race. To cross the finish line in one piece means everything. Winning or losing is a different story. A rower's ability to see through the physical pain and break through the mental battle of whether or not to give up is of indefinable tolerance and strength. This is just one of the unique beauties of rowing.
Above: An action shot of a college crew during a morning practice with perfectly flat and rowable water.
Yes,
it takes self motivation to work through the mental and physical pain,
but to see seven other rowers working just as hard as you are gives you
even more reason to push just as hard as they are. There are at
least seven different types of boats that a person can row in.
Six of those being with more than one person. If even one of
those people are off or is taking an off stroke, the entire boat will
lose speed and acceleration. This sort of beauty is one that
depends on the strength of others. Not only yourself. Most
other sports are different in that an individual can make a difference,
but with rowing, this is not so. An entire crew must work
together to make the difference and succeed. One cannot rely on
another to do their work, they must work just as hard or even harder to
finish and win the race. Trust is a main theme in rowing.
One rower must have trust in another that they will be pulling just as
hard on that oar as they are. Winning is not an individual
effort, it takes an entire boat to win. This is one of the
hardest things about rowing. Finding a crew that will put over
100% of effort into what they are doing. Without this, rowing
could be just like any other sport.
Above: A motivational poster for
'teamwork.'