I live my life the way I row.
Feb. 20th, 2006 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterIt has been interesting to talk to a couple of the other rowers who are usually scullers but who are in the 8-person boat that is going to San Diego. One of the women is a rower that I've been practicing with in the mornings in the single (aka I'm in one boat, she's in another and we race each other)--she's been rowing in the single for about 3 years and so the switch back to the 8 has been a bit more dramatic for her on a couple of different levels. First, the rowing itself is different--rowing with 2 oars requires completely different technique than rowing with 1 oar. Secondly, all of a sudden we must deal with people other than ourselves--9 people in a boat (8 rowers + 1 coxswain) means coordinating 9 different schedules and 9 different opinions on everything. Things that can be taken for granted in a smaller boat must be discussed in a larger boat. When rowing by myself, I have no reason to talk except to hear my own voice, so I coach myself in my head and am quiet. When I need to stop, change direction or increase my speed, I simply do so.
In an eight, the coxswain must be the only person talking, or else the entire boat becomes a discombobulated insect that cannot react in a quick, coordinated fashion. Oh, and we have anywhere between one and three coaches who are also busy telling us and our coxswain what to do. It doesn't help that our coxswain is relatively new to the sport and hasn't quite gotten to the point where she is quick in responding.
In the single, one must provide one's own balance with both oars and remain centered in the middle of the boat. In sweep rowing, nothing that one does is independent of the movements of other people because each person holds only one oar, only half of the equation.
I like both aspects of the sport for different reasons. Rowing in the eight teaches me to work with others and to compromise, and reminds me that I will not always get my way (for instance, I'd prefer to get home from practice before 8 am like I did this morning; but I can manage if I have to). Rowing in the single helps me determine my own strengths and teaches me to be responsible for my actions.
For most of my rowing career, I've been happy to row with teams, to share a common agenda and learn to work with other people. But I have to admit that I'll be happy to get back in the single when the race in San Diego is over.
In an eight, the coxswain must be the only person talking, or else the entire boat becomes a discombobulated insect that cannot react in a quick, coordinated fashion. Oh, and we have anywhere between one and three coaches who are also busy telling us and our coxswain what to do. It doesn't help that our coxswain is relatively new to the sport and hasn't quite gotten to the point where she is quick in responding.
In the single, one must provide one's own balance with both oars and remain centered in the middle of the boat. In sweep rowing, nothing that one does is independent of the movements of other people because each person holds only one oar, only half of the equation.
I like both aspects of the sport for different reasons. Rowing in the eight teaches me to work with others and to compromise, and reminds me that I will not always get my way (for instance, I'd prefer to get home from practice before 8 am like I did this morning; but I can manage if I have to). Rowing in the single helps me determine my own strengths and teaches me to be responsible for my actions.
For most of my rowing career, I've been happy to row with teams, to share a common agenda and learn to work with other people. But I have to admit that I'll be happy to get back in the single when the race in San Diego is over.
