Rowing...is that like kayaking?

- Our newest developer, Ilse van Meerbeek, is a national rowing champion with Olympic aspirations.  We asked her lots of dumb questions about the sport and why she trains four hours everyday, so to try and educate us she decided to write some blog posts.  So, is rowing like kayaking? - 

Not quite...  ;)  The rowing motion is quite different from kayaking or canoeing.  The primary difference being that in a rowing boat, rowers sit on a sliding seat, and move the boat by pushing their legs.  So, contrary to popular belief, rowing requires mostly lower body strength, rather than upper.

In a rowing boat, the athletes sit backwards, getting the rear-view of their motion.  How do they see where they are going?  In some boats, there is a person, called a coxswain, who faces forward and steers... In many boats, however, the rowers... have to look over their shoulders every now and then.  (Which yes, sometimes sometimes results in crashes.)

Rowers range from sparky collegiate pups, to ninety-year-old pros who helped birth the sport.  Most discover it in college, when a crew team member approaches them and asks: “You’re tall, have you ever thought about rowing?”  For some, it only takes one day to get hooked.  Some do it for the exercise.  Others, for the love of the water.  Many say they like the team experience.  Ask me why I row, and I could give you an ongoing list, but mainly, I enjoy the pursuit of discovering my limits.  I row so that I can answer the questions: How powerful and enduring can I make my body?  How tough can I make my mind?  Any sport can answer these questions, but I choose rowing, simply because I love the motion.  (Being on the water every day is also pretty awesome.)

At any level, you can find good competition, or just a great group of people who want to enjoy some time in a boat each day.  I look forward to the day when I will row simply for the joy of rowing, but for now, I’m leaning toward the “good competition” side of things... ;)