When we started this website, we knew some sports would surprise us. Rowing is one of them.
I pride myself on knowing a lot about the world of sports. The rules and regulation. The nuance. The story lines. I’ll even watch the occasional cricket match just to brush up on my vernacular. It’s a bit of a sickness, but we’ve covered that already.
The rowing and crew community has been a pleasant surprise for Mike and I, as we have much respect for athletes who truly sacrifice for their sport. It started with an early morning with the Long Beach State crew team. Then we met Victoria Draper, Todd Mehl and the team at Rowbics Indoor Rowing Inc. And this weekend at the 23rd Annual Beach Sprints at the Pete Archer Rowing Center at the Long Beach Boathouse, it finally hit me… these people are crazy; and it’s the best kind of crazy.
It’s not One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, it’s Rudy. It’s not Girl Interrupted, it’s Invincible.
From teenagers to grandparents and lightweights to heavyweights, each participant sprints a 2 kilometer distance on a Concept 2 rowing machine, or erg. They raced the clock and time standard based on age and weight for the opportunity to go to Boston for the World Indoor Rowing Championships on February 24th.
When I walked into the Rowing Center, I was immediately shocked by the amount of people. Not the amount of people in the room, but the amount of people intently watching the competitors. I mean, let’s be honest. It’s a rowing machine. It’s the same stroke again and again. It’s like watching someone ride a stationary bike.
But the cheering, the encouraging, and the coaching filling the small space as 15 racers pulled on their ergs was truly a sight to see. Not to mention the video screen above the participants.
Imagine you’re at the local carnival and you come across that horse racing game where you shoot the water pistol at the bulls-eye. The better your aim, the faster the horse goes. That’s kind of what it’s like at the Beach Sprints. The video screen is like the aerial view of a regular race with 15 lanes. The faster and harder the competitors pulled their ergs, the faster they would go on the screen.
The ‘Rowbics Ladies’ group took the ergs at 11:30am, and by 11:38am, they had traveled the fictional 2k. However, their effort and journey was as real as any other sport.
Take 54-year-old Evelyne Huegi for example. She had not participated in any sports until she started rowing, and according to her, “I have a lot of energy saved up.” With the coaching of Draper (who teaches Huegi at Rowbics, and sat behind the erg during her race) and the urging of the crowd, Huegi finished first in her group and knocked 12 seconds off her personal best. The only thing bigger than her accomplishment was the smile on her face after the race. “I feel great right now. This is great.”
Huegi & Draper
Meanwhile, Draper ran around congratulating those who finished and encouraging those about to race. “This is my favorite day of the year. There’s a lot of gold for Rowbics today.”
Another Rowbics competitor, 60-year-old Jill Ammirato, has only been rowing for four months. But with Draper’s program, and a whole lot of drive, Ammirato took the erg with a flight to Boston in mind. And who would be sitting on the erg next to her? Olympian Joan Van Blom.
As LBSU crew coach Brian Counter put it, “Not too many competitive sports can put those two athletes side-by-side.”
But the beauty of this event, and this sport, is its simplicity. It’s one thing. Yes, you need the drive, the strength, the endurance, and the grit. But it’s one stroke. Again and again.
“You just have to focus,” said rower Carol Nowacki. “You can’t see anything else… every stroke, and then kill yourself for that last 250 meters.”
Ammirato did exactly that, killing herself for the final few strokes, but her time wasn’t good enough. Of course, with this group, you wouldn’t know that by how many people came up to hug her after the race. Because after the erg stops spinning, this day and this sport is all about the competitor. It’s about pushing yourself past the point of no return and leaving your limitations in the wake.
That’s why Ammirato will get back on the erg this week. That’s why Huegi is smiling so big while still huffing and puffing. That’s why a former Olympian is still racing. This sport has no losers, and aren’t those sports always the best? Aren’t they always the most pleasant surprises?
Team Rowbics