My freshman year of college I decided I should do something completely different from anything I had ever tried before. New experiences are what college is all about so I decided “why not?” Shortly after I made this decision, I found the Colorado State University Crew Club team table at the diversity fair held in the plaza on campus my first week of school and decided I would go to the informational meeting just to try it out. Turns out it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, so here are the four best things that I have found out about crew.
1. You make great friends.
When I first start something new I can be very shy. Sometimes this can make me feel awkward and out of place, but with crew I never really felt like that. Sure, at first everything's really intimidating, you have to learn to be in a boat with four to eight other people, balanced and moving. But once you start to know what all the terms mean and how to really row, it's an amazing feeling to be part of this great group of people who all are working towards the same purpose. There was never a time that I felt like “I just don’t belong here because I don’t know what I’m doing.” Everyone is very helpful and friendly so that you learn quickly and soon you are all team bonding together. Crew is a great way to meet people and make new friends.
2. You get in amazing physical shape.
Rowing is a great way to get in shape because the sport itself is rigorous exercise that will make you feel refreshed and strong. Along with water practice, crew also includes gym and cross fit workouts that are great because the team will push you to really try your hardest. By the end of the season you will be in the best shape you have ever been in.
“Physiologists, in fact, have calculated that rowing a two-thousand-meter race—the Olympic standard—takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back. And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.”
― Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
3. Crew is the most intense team sport (but in a good way).
Most team sports have an aspect of the individual included in them. In football it’s the star quarterback, in soccer a large amount rests on the goalie, but with rowing there is no star player. Every person in the boat has to work together; if just one person is rowing slightly faster or slower, the whole boat can break down. Crew has the ability to make even the most independent person a great team player. Rowing as a club sport is also a "great way to commit to a sport after high school and have many of the same experiences and bonds at a more competitive level" (Ted Opp, Vice President for CSU Club Crew Team).
“What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn’t harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them. He had to care about his crew.”
― Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
4. You can be a beginner.
When I first started out, I thought that I would be very behind because everyone else would be more experienced than me. However that was not the case. When I first learned to row almost everyone else was new too. It’s completely fine to join an activity even if you’ve never done it before. With crew especially, the people who have rowed before are there to teach you. It’s not a burden, it’s what they're there for. Being a beginner is actually an asset because you might have a hidden talent you would have never known if you had never tried. Life in itself is a learning experience, so try new things. Hannah Tracy, the President of the CSU Crew Club Team, has explained "The program has grown exponentially in the last couple years alone. With the addition of a new coaching staff and equipment, we are expecting this fall and spring to be our most competitive seasons yet. The coed program allows students to compete and train alongside athletes with diverse backgrounds. Most of our rowers are new to the sport, and are excelling rapidly."
While I have not been doing crew for a long time, I still think it’s one of the best sports in the world and I know many other people would agree.