Crew Charts New Waters
NEIRAD enilno edition
In the past few years crew has become a very popular sport, and there are an increasing number of rowers at Darien High School who participate in clubs outside of school. There are two local boathouses, Maritime Rowing Club (MRC) and Norwalk River Association (NRA), both in Norwalk, which the students row at after school.
Although the sport is relatively new to DHS students, it is a favorite pastime, dating back to ancient times. Rowing was a means of transportation, but transformed into a source of exercise and one of the world’s oldest sports. The first regatta, or race, was held in the 13th Century, but only for men of course. Women’s participation in the sport was first permitted in the early 1800’s.
The male-dominance of the sport does not hold true at DHS, as more DHS girls row than boys. The history doesn’t matter to these kids though. They do crew because they love it. “It’s a sport that you just can’t do it if you don’t like it,” senior Kyle LaVecchia, a NRA rower said.
Imagine sitting in a boat with seven teammates, each of you playing a role that determines how the boat will move and how fast it will go. It is really a question of trust, determination and teamwork. “You are all relying on each other,” senior Aki Tas from MRC said. It is the intensity, they say, that makes it worthwhile, and even fun.
Let’s not forget about an integral part of the team: the coxswain. The coxswain, or cox for short, is in charge of the boat. Junior Andi Cara is a coxswain at MRC, and holds two major responsibilities. “I have to steer the boat, and I have to motivate the rowers,” Cara said.
During races she fires them up, and during practice she serves as the on-the-water coach. Since coaches are on the water in a separate motorboat, it is hard for them to ‘sideline’ coach, so the coxswain takes the job of coaching the rowers on their technique. Due to these large duties, they take a lot of the heat and responsibility for the rowers, and the boat’s performance. “If something goes wrong, 90% of the time the cox will be blamed,” Cara said.
Even with the pressure, crew seems to be worth giving up other sports for. “Mostly everyone who rows gave up a sport that they were playing to commit more time to crew,” junior Christine Bragg, also an MRC rower said.
With the youngest age bracket in the sport being middle schoolers, it is a fairly delayed sport in terms of starting time, but the athletes pick up the technique quickly and progress at a fast rate. There are a good number of rowers starting their freshman or sophomore years of high school. Rowing, unlike most sports, is a full-year commitment and is extremely time consuming. With three-hour practices, six days a week, it has taught these high school students the important lesson of time management. “Having a long practice in the afternoon has made me much more time efficient when it comes to my homework,” Emily Pik, MRC senior rower said.
These long practices have proved worthwhile to many of the rowers, especially Bragg and Pik. Bragg and Pik both row at MRC and competed in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston on October 17 and 18. It is an international race, drawing collegiate teams, as well as some high-school level clubs. There were 76 lucky high school teams who had to previously qualify in order to be considered; only 30% of the high school teams who inquired for a spot in the race were eligible to compete. Amazingly, MRC’s Varsity 8+ boat won. Not only was it the first time that Maritime Rowing Club had won first in an event at Head of the Charles, but it was only the second time an American team had won the specific event. “It was really exciting and such a huge accomplishment for us,” Pik said. Dee Bragg, Christine’s mom said, “this means they are the top high school boat in the country, as the Varsity 8+ is the most prestigious race.”
Crew is such a fascinating sport, and a great one to pick up in high school. Everyone who participates in the strenuous activity seems to fall in love with it, and thrive off of the pressure and immense teamwork. So, if you feel like changing up your sporting routine, consider crew as a potential new passion, and visit the Norwalk River Association or the Maritime Rowing Club boathouses.
