Non-rowers and some ex-rowers will eagerly divulge horror stories of waking up at 6am, never having time for studying, becoming a social recluse who can only communicate in boatie chat, and enforced wearing of stash.Admittedly, there's always the odd person who seems to live up to the stereotype, but that's not what you're signing up for when you write your crsID on the novice mailing list at your college fresher's fair.
Rowing once is not going to be a painful experience. You won't have to wake up in the dark or wear outlandishly coloured lycra. You'll probably sit in a boat and move a big stick through the water a little bit. I can almost guarantee that you won't capsize. You'll learn that rowing boats have seats on wheels (this completely blew my mind as a fresher) and that a rowing stroke is made up of a sequence of 'legs, backs, arms, arms, backs, legs' rather than just tugging your arms back and forth. The part where the oar goes in the water is called the 'catch' and where it comes out the water is called the 'finish'. If you didn't know this before, then your one trip to the boathouse will have been an educational experience. You came to Cambridge to learn, right?
You'll probably see a group of older rowers and realise that this isn't just a sport for the tall, athletic and muscular, although these qualities might help should you wish to pursue rowing to a higher level. Instead, college rowers come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. If you speak to some of these people, you could learn that many were never the 'sporty' type at school. They used to dread PE lessons, yet, as young adults, willingly turn up to training every single day for a sport they only took up for the promise of a free T-shirt.
After all this, you might understand that what you have seen on one day barely scrapes the surface of what rowing at Cambridge can really be. You might go back again, and again. You could work harder than you've ever worked before, and laugh harder too. You'd understand what it means to truly push yourself, to be part of a team, and to know the thrill of rowing in a boat that is more than the sum of its parts. Or you might decide that it's not worth it, ignore the emails, never again return to the river, and have a pleasant, blister free university experience. It's your choice.
But if you go once, at least you'll get a free barbecue out of it.
You'll probably see a group of older rowers and realise that this isn't just a sport for the tall, athletic and muscular, although these qualities might help should you wish to pursue rowing to a higher level. Instead, college rowers come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. If you speak to some of these people, you could learn that many were never the 'sporty' type at school. They used to dread PE lessons, yet, as young adults, willingly turn up to training every single day for a sport they only took up for the promise of a free T-shirt.
After all this, you might understand that what you have seen on one day barely scrapes the surface of what rowing at Cambridge can really be. You might go back again, and again. You could work harder than you've ever worked before, and laugh harder too. You'd understand what it means to truly push yourself, to be part of a team, and to know the thrill of rowing in a boat that is more than the sum of its parts. Or you might decide that it's not worth it, ignore the emails, never again return to the river, and have a pleasant, blister free university experience. It's your choice.
But if you go once, at least you'll get a free barbecue out of it.
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