The song goes, “row, row, row your boat,” but for the PCH students involved in the St. Louis Rowing Club, the song takes on a bit of a different tune. It would probably go more like “row, row, row our boat.”
“In rowing, every single person is in the boat, pulling their hardest. When they win, they win as a boat, and when they lose, they lose as a boat,” sophomore Danny Prywitch said.
Rowing is one of the most team-dominated sports because success depends on every single rower.
“I learned teamwork is essential to winning. You really have to focus and be in sync with each other,” sophomore Brandon Fenton said.
For junior Holly Payne, working so close together has turned her team into best friends.
“Some of my closest friends are on my team,” Payne said. “They’re like family because we see each other every day, and in order to succeed we have to work together and give every ounce of effort we have.”
Rowing is broken down into two sectors: sweeping and sculling. In sweeping, each rower has one oar whereas in sculling each rower has two oars. All rowers can sweep well, but only a select few become pros at sculling. Both types compete in competitions called regattas throughout the year.
“People tend to go watch the races [at regattas], so the shorelines are crowded with screaming people waiting for the first boats to cross the line, which is extremely exciting,” Prywitch said.
Besides the crowds of people cheering the rowers on, the teams which come from all over the country tend to get along well. Sophomore Bennett Anderson, who hosted rowers from other teams during one regatta, particularly enjoyed getting to know his fellow rowers despite being on competing teams.
“It’s a real friendly atmosphere. It gets tense toward race time but it’s fun,” Anderson said.
Practices are taken very seriously and can be quite demanding. Prywitch has practice from 4-6pm six days a week. Practices range from runs around Creve Coeur Lake, to technique building, to taking the boats out on the lake or using indoor rowing machines.
“There’s no such thing as a typical workout in rowing,” Fenton said.
Anderson, Fenton, Payne, and Prywitch all first learned about the St. Louis Rowing Club when representatives came to Central to talk to gym classes about the sport. Prywitch, who began rowing in Spring 2011, decided to take a break after his first season but soon realized it didn’t feel right.
“I decided that I wanted the summer off, then the fall and winter off. I felt like I was missing something in my life, so I decided to go back to SLRC,” Prywitch said.
Aside from the physical benefits, part of rowing’s appeal comes from the atmosphere.
“I think that Creve Coeur lake is a beautiful place and is an even better place to have our practices,” Prywitch said. “I enjoy being out on the water in the late afternoon, especially when the sun begins to set over the surrounding forests.”
Each rower credits rowing with their improved strength, speed, focus, and team skills and encourages other PCH students to try out the sport.
“Rowing has challenged me to a point no sport has. Everyone and anyone should join–register for the summer season,” Fenton said.
