Cincinnati Juniors 2006-2010 Harvard Men's Varsity 2010-2014
Personal Testimonies
Nick Jaroszewicz
Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club: 2006-2010
Harvard Men's Varsity Crew: 2010-2014
JJ Englander
Community Rowing 2005-2009
Duke Women's Rowing 2009-2013
Meghan Solomon
Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club 2005-2009
Notre Dame Women's Varsity 2009-2013
I think there are 3 parts of rowing: High School Rowing, Women's Collegiate Rowing, and Men's Rowing.
With high school rowing, I think it has become much more popular as a sport in the United States. Whereas it used to be only a few clubs on the West Coast and Prep Schools in the East, we now see schools and clubs sprouting up all around the country, in places like Ohio (where I rowed), Texas, and Oklahoma (where they have a training center, a collegiate team and a high school team (I think?)). All this has made rowing itself a much more inclusive sport at the high school level, even if many of those start up programs have no achieved the same success as the Prep schools year in and year out (though to me that is no different than any high school sport--cyclical unless you have people specifically coming to places to do the sport).
With Women's collegiate rowing, I think Title IX has opened up the opportunity for good high school girls (which can be achieved with a machine test or race results) to continue their careers at big time schools, as the cost of rowing is high, and schools are OK with that because they NEED to spend that on girls sports. So because these are no longer offered solely to Ivy Leagues and West Coast Crews (though those crew still find themselves looking down at the newly created crews), it offers a great amount more opportunity for someone that has done decently well in a high school program, regardless of their background, to compete in collegiate rowing.
Finally, Men's Rowing has, in my opinion, become more inclusive. While there are plenty of club teams around the area, where people can pay their way onto teams, competitive Men's Rowing Programs are few and far between. There is the EARC (Ivy league plus Syracuse, Georgetown, GW, Holy Cross, Wisconsin, and Rutgers) and the West Coast (of which only Washington, Cal, and Stanford have competitive crews), and then very few varsity programs other than that While FIT and Drexel have certainly tried to be competitive by giving scholarships, this rarely turns into a medal at these competitions (In fact, there has only been one medal--Drexel my frosh year, which Kyle Fabel rowed in). Not only that, but it is getting more international every year. Harvard will row their top boat with no more than 2 Americans in their boat, both of whom went to prep schools. Washington and Yale also have less than 4 Americans in each of their boats. To add to this, novice programs--teaching a kid to row once they have gotten to college--are not as serious as they once were. When my father rowed at Yale, they only recruited a few rowers and hoped for novices to fill out the rest of the boat. That is no longer the case; teams either recruit enough people for a 1st Freshman 8 or disband the freshman 8 all together. So due to the international and prep school nature of the men's programs, I think that rowing at a high level for Men is not what it once was. So while I think high school and Women's rowing has branched out to be more inclusive, the trend of the last 15-25 years in the Men's Programs has been more international, less focus toward novices, and more on the EARC and Pac-12 (Pac-3 really) rather than making an inclusive sport of scholarships and opportunity
Rowing is all about teamwork, balance and communication.
Before races, my coach says, “When you are being challenged, you must ask yourself two questions. Is the pain worth it? And can I finish? The answers are always yes.” Rowing has taught me that in the face of challenges and frustration you must prove how badly you want to succeed and what kind of attitude is necessary to achieve. My optimism and persistence will allow me to achieve my goals and make a contribution on a college campus because rowing has taught me the importance of the steps taken to achieve not only the achievement itself. "
Rowing, as a sport, excluding financial strains, is completely accessible, only if you know what you're getting into. No one gets into rowing and only gives half of themselves because it's impossible. The physical and mental demands are so rigorous, that only select people can continue, compete, and succeed. If the mental challenge is surmountable, the physical one can prove grueling. But some advantages exist.
One example of this is body type. Men, due to strength, have an advantage over women. Those taller have an advantage over those shorter, and the heavier have an advantage over the lighter. Because the body is used kinetically as a lever, these physical assets can aid speed, endurance, and strength. I've found that my body type is shorter, but broader. Having wide, almost masculine shoulders has been beneficial to me as a woman because it gives me the chance to pull the oar into my body with more strength. While these physical characteristics indicate who is "better" at rowing, the physical may belie the mental. A rower, whether tall, short, large, petite, man, or woman, is only as strong as the confidence, poise, and mental strength they possess.
A Protest of Privilege
