Lucas Brown
UML Student

I would like to take a moment to explain what rowing crew is and why you, the reader, should care. Or at least be a little more interested in our school’s flourishing program.

Crew is, by its simplest definition, rowing boats competitively. People have been racing row boats since we have been rowing boats for transportation. Pharoah Amonhotep was renowned for “feats of Oarsmanship” (Wikipedia). Crew and academia have gone hand in hand for a long time as well. This is the reason for the raised-pinky affluence that Crew is stereotyped with. If you have access to a Netflix account and want to see something hilariously stereotypical, watch Miracle At Oxford. Without wanting (or being able) to accurately summarize, the film is about a bunch white bread limey society boys overcoming petty, barely plot driving, personal conflicts. This movie has more ego and childish behavior per minute than a documentary on developmental psychology. They basically spend the entire film trying to find room for eighteen egos in a boat made for nine people. You likely don’t know enough about rowing yet to find this film accidently satirical. But trust me, it epitomizes negative crew stereotypes. The empty plot and all the Yankee hate speak will likely keep you from wanting to finish Miracle at Oxford (I know I couldn’t). Dear readers, please understand, UMass Lowell’s rowing club is diametrically opposed to the negative stereotypes about rowing. They’re a diverse, humble, team centered group of competitive, early risers (4:30 a.m.). they race past differences and egos to cross the finish line.

If you’ve never heard a negative crew stereotype, try it! Try A-row-bics on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the CRC. Sarah Krawiec (delightful person) is the instructor and she’ll teach you to use a rowing machine (Ergometer). You’ll be glad you learned how to use a rowing machine. You can reach an unbelievable level of fitness by effectively learning ONE skill: the stroke. Because rowing is a distance sport, it is arguably as good for your cardiovascular health as running. I’ve personally added seven miles in one year to what I can run before I hit any kind of wall. And unlike running, there’s no trade-off for strength; Olympic rowers are almost as strong as Olympic weight lifters. Unlike Olympic weight lifters, rowers don’t sacrifice much flexibility or long-term joint health. Basically rowing injuries come from performing the sport incorrectly, i.e. the stroke.

You’ll obviously learn more than one skill if you try rowing, but most won’t be physical. For one, you’ll learn to be a morning person. 4:30 a.m. sounds like an ungodly hour to rise, but it’s a lot easier when you’re excited about what you’re getting up for. I know that most of you aren’t doing much between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. After living that schedule for a little while, 8:00 a.m. classes are easy. Rowing teaches accountability; each boat has a set lineup, so, if you miss practice, no one in your boat can go out. In this sense, rowing is a team sport, but it is also very individual. You learn more mental toughness in eight minutes by rowing two thousand meters hard as you can than you do in a lifetime of football. That mental strength is what keeps you accountable way before you disappoint your boat. If you try crew and like it, you won’t want to miss practice, you want to get on the water. The first thought if you wake up late isn’t your boat mates: first you’re upset you don’t get out on the water that day. Then, there are eight other people mad you kept them from getting their fix too. Seeing the sun rise, the boat carving through morning mist like a machete through plant matter, is like nothing else. It’s exhilarating; you can get addicted.

If you, dear readers, are even the least bit curious about what rowing looks like, but you aren’t ready to shift your sleep schedule up a little yet, that’s ok. You’re lucky to live near the only two kilometer racing course in the country that is entirely visible from the boathouse. The Bellegarde Boathouse is our base of operations. It’s also one of the huge things our program has going for it. It’s a high-quality facility, and it’s a great place to watch a regatta (boat race). One true crew stereotype is that it’s not usually a spectator sport. Rowing races can span from two to six kilometers, so spectating often gives you a limited view of the race. Lowell, for all its stereotypes, is a uniquely good place to watch rowing crew.

This is UML’s first year as a D-1 school in the NCAA. This is going be an explosive season for the UML rowing club. Though rowing is a club sport, we have all the tools to be a very competitive team. The high society demeanor of rowing has balanced out with the gritty realness of Lowell to make a team that is swift, fierce, and worth watching. Come watch the 2k Regatta racing season, the race schedule is on the UML club sports page. We’ll be racing in Lowell this Saturday, April 5th at noon! Take advantage of our uniquely vast rowing course, the mighty Merrimack River. Take advantage of our top notch coaching staff. Take advantage of the perfect storm brewing for those racing against UML Rowing.

Rowing does not have to be something stereotypical, something high-brow and snooty; it’s just a good thing, a great thing. The good parts are too numerous to rank, but the people are worth meeting. They’re intelligent; they know what a good deal rowing is as an exercise. But they know that, like a boat, life requires balance. These individuals spend all their time they aren’t honing their minds honing their bodies. They are balanced, interesting, high achieving individuals. The reason I refer to UML rowing as they instead of us, is that I know how great we are as a whole, but I have to prove it to myself and my team mates anew every day. I do that by getting up and out on the water with them, that’s really all it takes to be a rower.

Consider this, readers, a challenge from me to you: challenge yourself. The sport is fun, the people are great, and the rewards are vast. If you try rowing and it’s not for you, I thank you. I hope you don’t feel my words misrepresented the challenges and rewards of rowing crew. I hope I’ve made you a rowing spectator at least once. Like I said, you’ll be glad you learned how to stroke a rowing machine. An ergometer beats the hell out of a home gym or a treadmill.