Why We Joined Crew (for parents and rowers)

From a parent's perspective:

Sitting in the grandstand near the finish line, during the first regatta on a cold March day. You get there in plenty of time before your rower is scheduled to race, and settle in with other Warhawk parents to cheer and chat. The first competition you see is a revelation. The starting line, downstream on the Occoquan by almost a mile, is so distant that the six boats are a row of dots, even in binoculars. How can those kids possibly row that far? You only know when a race starts because of the announcement over the PA system. A few minutes later the boats are close enough to make out the flash of oars moving in unison, and you try to judge who is in the lead. You hear the cheers of the other parents seeing their rowers giving it their all. A boat surges into the lead, a rower in another boat "catches a crab" (and you actually know what that means!), anything can happen at any time. Your own excitement level ratchets up when you see your rower's boat, on the far side of the race lanes, heading down from the boathouse to the start. You think back over all your rower has put in to get to this point, let alone yourself in support of the team. But you also think about the friends both you and your rower have made through crew, and the kids' excitement as they become a true team, ready to compete. Then it is your rower's race, and you see them coming up the river, and you know nothing could be more satisfying and beautiful than seeing that team cross the finish line.

From a rower's perspective:

You and your team are on their way to the start line, during your first regatta on a cold March day. It's been months on that erg machine, staring at a wall in the school while you get the hardest workout of your life and add blisters to your blisters. It's been months of workouts and homework and everything else in your life getting squeezed in somehow. Those random kids back in November are now your friends – your boat – and a big part of your life. Your adrenaline starts to pump as you pass the grandstand on the far bank, and can just see your family and friends waving like crazy. The varsity rowers told you those workouts would all be worth it once you got on the water, and you realize how right they were. You sense your boat – rowers and cox – all in synch and all getting pumped for the race. The races before yours flash by, the oar patterns of the schools you've only seen at water practice till now, you wonder how you'll measure up. At last, it's your turn at the start line, and your adrenaline is on fire in your veins as the boats are lined up. A split second after the starter horn sounds, your boat leaps up the course. The cox shouts encouragement, when to change speed, calls out where you are relative to the other boats. You only see the back of the rower in front of you, only hear the cox and the perfectly-timed snap of your teammates' oars. You know you won't let your team down. The lane markers change to all red, and you know you can dig down inside and row still harder, still faster, for those last few hundred yards. You are dimly aware of the grandstand and that there must be a roar, but you only hear your team, your gasps for air, and your boat as you cross the finish. Suddenly, you've never felt prouder, or more exhausted, in your life. You can't wait for next week and the next regatta.

See for yourself - click on the Photo Gallery link above, for images and videos of our team