A Peek Into Rowing Life

Akshan Raina

At first I was hesitant when opportunity first arose to consider rowing as a major sport. Having little knowledge on the subject as of then, I was under the assumption that it would be a boring and repetitive motion. However, having always been a fan of water sports (having done stand up paddle boarding, kayaking and Canoeing) – I decided I would give it a try, and so when the older boys came round in an attempt to recruit some rowers for the house, I signed up.

For this I must thank my dad who has always pushed me and encouraged me to do water sports as he himself also loves them – in fact we used to do them every summer wherein he would book sessions for us to be on the water together as a family. It was he who first inspired me to do rowing.

This was the start of my rowing journey at Eton.

As I progressed from first learning how to row to then rowing competitively for the house, I learnt to love the sport. There was truly nothing better than the whoosh of the air on your face as you speed through the water. The joyous Summer days where the sun is shining on a clear day at a soothing 21 degrees make up for the late winter nights under the rain at a chilling 4 degrees, and it is this very aspect – the dedication required – that makes rowing such a character building sport as well.

Now I row competitively for the school have earned rowing colours, I also rowed for my house in the annual Bumps competition, one of the most highly regarded of all Eton traditions.

Rowing differs in many ways from other water sports. One of the major differences is that you sit facing the opposite direction to that in which you are moving. It is a sport which is highly physically demanding and unlike most other water sports it primarily depends upon force from the legs (as opposed to arms), yet it also engages the whole body if done correctly. From the moment you have to lift the 114kg boat from the boat house and take it to the water, to rowing the 2k up to start line (not to mention the exhausting race on the way back), the body is never at rest!

I would recommend giving rowing a try if the opportunity were ever to arise as it is a great exercise for the whole body and can also be extremely fun once you get a hang of it. One of the best things about rowing has got to be the sense of camaraderie you feel from being in a boat with seven others, who are all relying upon each other in order for the boat to move well. This is similar to most team sports, where the acts of training and competing together forge strong bonds of friendship. Finally, when you get into rhythm and are gliding through the water, it can be incredibly relaxing – feeling the fresh air on your face and occasionally experiencing a splash of cold water on your back.

As you can tell I have thoroughly enjoyed my rowing journey so far and so would recommend that you should also give it a try. If river and rowing boat are inaccessible or out of the question, you could even start by rowing on an ergometer in a gym to get a taste for the act and motion.