In the wee hours of the morning, the campus is desolate, save for a handful of stragglers returning from parties and a group of chain smokers in the LA quad. But within the walls of the quiet dorms, a team of dedicated, passionate athletes awaken from sound slumber. They scramble to hit their alarms and search their dark rooms for the nearest obtainable spandex. There is little time to spare, so coordinates are not in style, at least not to rowers at 4 in the morning. From the dorms emerge sleepwalkers on a tight schedule. The AUTO vans depart for the Anacostia River at 4:30 and will return to campus around 7:15 a.m. with the same team in a slightly different state - awake and exhausted.
Within minutes after the team arrives at the river, the boathouse is bustling with activity. Rowers carry oars to the water and set up launches that will accommodate boats of intense individuals down the Anacostia. The coaches meet briefly to decide upon pieces to practice and assign boats to the coxswains. Then things really speed up. Practice has officially begun. Coxswains scramble to find cox boxes and gather their crews. The boats are carefully hoisted to shoulders by the awakening rowers. The coxswains lead them to the water's edge. Once on the water, each crew has a short minute to make minor adjustments. Once everyone is tied in, the row begins.
The fall season is marked by series of head races, or long-distance challenges. These races place emphasis on crews' endurance and pace. Practices usually consist of lengthy pieces of steady-state rowing, in which coxswains must improvise and keep their crews motivated and efficient during the pieces. Boats, especially coxswains, must pace themselves while strategizing advances. For coxswains, it is critical that, at this point, they know their individual rowers' as well as the boat's capacities. Pushing a crew too far does more harm than good, so it is important that coxswains form and maintain working relationships with their rowers.
Members of AU's crew team are constantly being asked why and how any sane individual would voluntarily sacrifice sleep and energy to suffer physical torture six days a week. The dynamics of a sport like crew exhibit the true characteristics of a team sport. The commitment that members make to the team is enforced by the fact that all members of each boat must be present in order for the boat to go out on the water. An eight, a boat with eight rowers and a coxswain, will be left on land if one person neglects to come to practice. Thus, there is a clear understanding of the importance of developing routines. In the sport of crew, timing is everything. But each morning, the experience of the row is unique to each boat, and practices become passionate, personal affairs that reap endless rewards.
Besides the technical aspects of rowing, the sport involves the mind to a degree that significantly affects physical output. Since members of each crew are physically bound to one boat, they must synchronize each stroke to achieve maximum performance. Crews don't row pieces, they row stroke by stroke. A successful piece is achieved by a boat's ability to capitalize upon a full recovery between strokes, allowing each rower to tweak his or her performance and/or technique to better the row. Hence, there is a lot of critical thinking in rowing.
Learning how to row is an ongoing, exciting and often frustrating experience. AU Crew held a barbecue on Sept. 12 to mark the beginning of the fall season and open its doors to prospective rowers and coxswains. Two new boats were also christened at the event. Due to the generosity of The Bender Foundation and Dr. Pierre Han, AU Crew now owns two new Vespoli fours, The Bender Boat and the Dr. Pierre Han. Emma Gantaheva, the women's varsity coxswain who coxed the women's lightweight eight to victory at the Dad Vail Championships in May, christened the Han, and Scott Sandusky, an AU alumnus who is now part of the coaching staff, christened The Bender Boat.
All interested prospects were required to pass a swim test and pay $150 (half of the seasonal dues) for four weeks of instruction. The initiation of the Learn to Row Program attracted 82 new prospects. The program focuses on the basics of rowing, including introducing participants to the fundamentals of racing shells, land and water routines, water safety, land training, and rowing technique. Out of the group of participants, 72 people have decided to stay for the season.
With a rapidly expanding team, AU Crew has become a well-respected face in the league of mid-Atlantic college and club teams. The team plans to compete in four races during the fall season: the Head of the Potomac, Occoquan Chase, Head of the Schuylikill and the Head of the Occoquan. For more in-depth information and updates, please visit www.aucrew.net.
Suzanne Hill is a coxwain on the AU women's crew team and a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs.
