"Why crew?"
Crew members explain why rowing is worth it
Kari Lombard
Issue date: 10/23/06 Section: Sports
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"I've participated in competitive team sports my whole life and I knew that I wanted that experience in college. As to why crew and not, say, basketball, is largely a matter of novelty and timing. But the rewards I get from rowing are the same as other sports: I get to go battle for and with my best friends on a daily basis. That camaraderie is immeasurable."
Ryan Whelpley
"It's one of the purest forms of competition, within the squad and against other teams. If you don't make the boat go as fast as the other guy, you lose your spot in the boat. If you don't want it as much as the other crew, you lose the race. There is a lot of brute strength and muscle involved; however, the lifetime it takes to master the technique can be compared to golf. On top of that I love the purity of the team work. In another sport you can say the team had a poor performance but point to one athlete as having a stellar outing. However, in rowing, if the boat doesn't swing together, no member can compete to their full potential and no one individual can ever be singled out for having a good performance or a bad performance."
Kari Lombard
"I row because if I didn't, I would lose a fantastic group of friends and miss the sunrise every morning. It's worth the time commitment because of how good it feels to race, to win and to be part of such an awesome team. Head of the Charles is one of the things that makes crew worth it. It's a huge event and being there reminds us that we're a part of this gigantic community that's as crazy as we are. Getting invited is a big honor, especially for such a small team and it's fun to race with so many people watching and rowing."
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