Rowing

[Shimmy]

Any of you into rowing? Or into the hot athletic men and women practising it? Tell me your stories.

[YOUTUBE="RLmXaZZMI-M"]Boatrace Part 1[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE="LZ2Ctu-GAs0"]Boatrace Part 2[/YOUTUBE]

 

[mortabunt]

I am into rowing, but as a coxswain. The best word to describe the sport is pain. Rowers are assholes to coxswains (especially me), and rowers hurt a lot since they work incredibly hard and the oars rip their hands apart.

 

[Shimmy]

You must've picked the wrong team then. Over at my rowing club one of the creeds is to "always listen to your coxswain". Sure I bitch at them sometimes for making me work my ass of, but always in a joking manner and I (and every other rower I know) greatly respect good coxswains realizing how important they are to the boat.

I once had to help on the loading/offloading platform at a competition match and the men's heavy 8 was coming in. 8 guys at an average of 90 kilo's. The coxswain, a girl that could've hardly weigh more then 55 kilo's got out, and with less then three orders, well within 10 seconds the men had gotten out of the boat, lifted the boat out of the water and had stored it back inside. It was the funniest thing to watch.

A log of Dutch rowing clubs even have the habit to, after a heat as the first thing they do when they get out the boat, count down and yell simultaneously: "Stuur, bedankt" (coxswain thanks).

I do agree with the ripped hands though. Mine are FUBAR, not even a gypsy lady could make sense of them any more.

 

[mortabunt]

IT's an american high school club. Beside's they're the bad ESTP's, and I'm a total INTP. It's borderline war. I've been threatened three times with severe injuries from a certain rower who is an ESTP. I hate him hard enough to flip the boat over, just to drown him. He's only popular there because he hates me. AT school, he is a whiny jerk.

 

[Shimmy]

Well why don't you go rowing somewhere else then? Or perhaps even another sport. Fuck them if they're mean to you.

 

[Nijntje]

IT's an american high school club. Beside's they're the bad ESTP's, and I'm a total INTP. It's borderline war. I've been threatened three times with severe injuries from a certain rower who is an ESTP. I hate him hard enough to flip the boat over, just to drown him. He's only popular there because he hates me. AT school, he is a whiny jerk.

do it

 

[StephMC]

I used to be a coxswain in college.... It was only a semester, but I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I had a super busy schedule, so I couldn't continue. Also, although I was told I steered good courses, I don't think motivating is my strong point. Haha.. I never knew what to say. I was like "Uh.... Come on... guys... you can do it!"

ISTPs= not the best motivators ever.

Oh, and it doesn't help that I'm distracted easily: "Oooh... a goose."

Regardless, it's a great sport to get into. Even I was only involved for short while, I learned a lot.

 

[Usehername]

I rowed in high school (usually quads, sometimes an 8).

I loved chasing after the sun while it was rising at 5:30, I loved how great my back muscles etc. looked, but at some point rowing has to become your life if you want to take it seriously, and it wasn't important enough for me to do that to keep at it.

I'm thankful for my pretty piano hands rather than my gnarled-at-the-time rowing hands.

Edit: I recommend road cycling for any rowers who want to find a similaresque sport but don't want the huge commitment of team rowing and working your life around times on the water. It's also way friendly on body parts.

 

[Accept]

Years ago I spent summers aboard a boat anchored out from a rowing club and since there were several nights when I was able to scare off vandals with the spotlight, the club made me an honorary member. They allowed me to take out the singles anytime, occasionally fill-in on the fours, or act as coxswain for the eights when they were shorthanded. Crewing was interesting, but always preferred being out there alone.

 

[Bubbles]

I did rowing for a bit with friends in high school this year, and I'm not a physically strong person, but that sport tones you, honestly. We'd run three miles before even going out on the water, and then once I started the rowing, my poor hands got so scratched up and blistered...and they're usually soft artist hands! But it was so good for my body, and the people were so wonderful, I enjoyed all the hard work. Oh, and the tan I got subsequently was nice, too.

I was tiny enough to be a coxswain, but certainly lacked assertiveness and knowledge on the subject, so I mostly rowed in an 8 or with three other girls. And I can't imagine anyone ignoring the coxswain, cuz those guys are fierce!

And for laughs: Somerville College Rowing Humor I was totally a three.

 

[Athenian200]

All I know about rowing is this:

"Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream."

I don't think it helps much, though.

 

[Shimmy]

And for laughs: Somerville College Rowing Humor I was totally a three.

I'm a 6. Though I row in quads and I'm usually the bow or #2. I can row both on starboard and port.

 

[Omission1234]

hey i've rowed competitively for like 5 years?? i guess now and I went to canada games and all that and ive competed in the us. It's pretty fun I'm pretty quiet i just love the intensity and winning is soo fun . The pain is totally worth the winning feeling haha but its cool. I typically row 8's or sometimes quads, ive recently been to a camp for 1x which was different but fun. The only issue is trying to motivate yourself to higher levels of competition... still not sure but its definitely a great sport for teams and personal development. I love the sunrise and rowing and just the no talking and quiet work part. I've had a few injuries but not too many just need to do the work and have fun

 

[Amethyst]

I used to row, I used to pwn at it too.

We almost medaled at Canadian Natls. one year, and then my senior year I was supposed to be in the boat that medaled, but they kicked me out for political reasons, and had to race with fucking freshman that didn't know shit about anything because the coach was such a piss-off kiss-ass son of a bitch that absolutely everyone loathed....

If you can't tell, I'm still incredibly bitter about the whole ordeal. I stopped rowing altogether and seeing people on the team because I was just so incredibly pissed that I was just thrown away, after all the hard work I put into being in that fucking boat. I said 'fuck everyone' and avoided them ever since.

I keep telling myself I'm not bitter, and that I'm better than them, but that hasn't really gotten me anywhere except even further down the shithole, like my life is just being flushed down the toilet no matter how much I try and salvage it.

Yeah, I got a little deep there. Rowing was my life at that time, it was just one of those, 'Where did my life go, and why is it worth nothing now?' moments.

 

[Omission1234]

what almost medaled ? thats sick was it canadian henley? i wanna be there in good shape it would rock I got 5th in 2009 can games womens 8+. Yeah its tough to motivate when there is boat drama thats why i hate it sometimes but i love rowing its so nice. Yeah ive had a few of those moments i boat selections but you just gotta say "im gonna prove you wrong!!" haha easier said then done but i keep coming back to it . Yeah i was unsure for a while where i fit in, in it all more so like my own issues and you know growing up stuff and i liked the girl on my team haha and then i was like maybe i need to look at just normal life bbut after like a month break/ thinking im going back in training now for all winter and hopefully go away in summer thats the plan soooo you should try it for fun again in a different club or gett a double partner thats raddddd haha let me know how it goes if it goes !!

 

[Amethyst]

what almost medaled ? thats sick was it canadian henley? i wanna be there in good shape it would rock I got 5th in 2009 can games womens 8+. Yeah its tough to motivate when there is boat drama thats why i hate it sometimes but i love rowing its so nice. Yeah ive had a few of those moments i boat selections but you just gotta say "im gonna prove you wrong!!" haha easier said then done but i keep coming back to it . Yeah i was unsure for a while where i fit in, in it all more so like my own issues and you know growing up stuff and i liked the girl on my team haha and then i was like maybe i need to look at just normal life bbut after like a month break/ thinking im going back in training now for all winter and hopefully go away in summer thats the plan soooo you should try it for fun again in a different club or gett a double partner thats raddddd haha let me know how it goes if it goes !!

Yeah, we got fourth in a Lightweight 4 my soph year, which was fantastic, but my junior year was a serious burnout year, but I got my act back together, and I proved that I was just as good soph year, and I was planned to row at Henley for the longest time until the day before fucking RACE DAY! I was getting ready to go out with the others until the coach said I was REPLACED!!! WTF! YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT LAST MINUTE WHEN YOU HAD ME TRAINING IN THIS BOAT FOR 6 MONTHS! It was all politics, I found out later, because it made no sense why I was replaced by a sophomore who had worse times than I did as well as worse form. The boat eventually got 3rd place Hvwt varsity womens 8+...which pissed me off even more. People expected me to be HAPPY about them winning!!! What the fuck is that shit?!?!?! It was even harder considering the fact that more than half that boat were my best friends...I didn't talk to them for a very long time, except my INTJ friend, because she'd take my anger objectively unlike everyone else.

I've found ultimate frisbee now, so far it's been fun... but I'm SOOOO out of shape noow, which is fun.