Sophie, a 14 year old living in New York started rowing this summer. Luckily she decided to tell us all about it.
Other than Sophie I only know one other person who is on a rowing team. As she tells us, "it's really really difficult, like, you don't expect it to be but it's really really hard!" Now we know why not many people do it. Okay, as a good and lazy person (like me) I suggest that you grab some ice cream and read about people doing physically exerting activities.
“ The best part is being able to have people in your corner that you can rely on and being that person for other people.”
What is rowing?
Rowing is a physical, on the water, competitive, team sport. Sophie's job is to be a rower on the freshman varsity team. She describes that there is a lot of technique that goes into the actual motion of rowing. The other position available is coxswain which is the person who steers the boat and shouts directions to the rowers. As a team, they move backwards across the water in long, thin race boats. There are boats for two, four or eight people. In addition, there are two different types of boats: in a sweeping, each person only uses one oar and in a sculling they use two.
Interestingly, Sophie's rowing team is not part of her school, it is a totally separate program. She found out about it at the beginning of the summer when she wanted to find a camp that hadn't closed because of corona. After only four weeks of camp she was put on the varsity team. Yay Sophie!
What is being on a team like?
“We can always rely on each other for anything, we can talk to each other about anything.” says Sophie. After discussing her hang outs with girls from the team, team building days during practice, and pep talks from the upperclassmen, I can confirm that the sport is very team oriented. The upperclassmen told her and her team that teammates are a great pillar in a sport as physically demanding as rowing. Sophie also insists that the social aspect is essential: “It’s a really good way to get to know each other more which makes you a stronger team on the water.” Through out our interview, she continued to come back to that fact that her team is the best part of the sport.
What is the importance of rowing?
Sophie thinks it's great to commit to something you love but that is still really hard. When comparing it to other sports, she finds rowing very enjoyable and not something she dreads, in fact, it motivates her. Possessing something outside of school to focus on is also really important to her. As for the rest of her life, rowing shows her how to be a part of a community and help other people out.
Thank you so much Sophie for letting me interview you about this amazing sport. I hope you all have a splash-tastic day!
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