REASONS WHY ROWING IS A GREAT SPORT
YOU GET RIPPED
Muscles. Rowing is the best sport because it uses every muscle in the human body. At each point in the stroke, you are using different portions of your muscles, but at the completion of each stroke, you have used every single one. Despite what most may think, rowing uses not only your arms and legs but also your back, your abs, your feet, your hands, your torso, your shoulders, your butt (why do you think we do so many squats?) and always YOUR BRAIN. Rowing is one of the most (if not THE MOST) mentally taxing sports because you have to use every single muscle in your body to its maximum potential.
YOU GET TO BE A PART OF A TEAM
Rowing is THE team sport. If one person fails, everyone fails. Teamwork and camaraderie is the most important part of being in a boat. In a boat, you have to push each other to each person's physical and mental limits. Rowers are taught to not only pull for themselves, but to pull for their teammates. Being a part of a team gives you access to so many people and many future opportunities. Rowers are looked at in very high confidence in the job market due to their supreme team working abilities. Mentioning that you row or have rowed can immediately boost your value to a future employer (especially if they were a rower or have children that row)!
YOU GET TO MEET NEW PEOPLE
Regattas are a lot of fun. You get to meet so many new people. You can attend regattas where you race against hundreds of schools and clubs from around the country.
THERE ARE SCHOLARSHIP$ AVAILABLE!
Rowing is becoming an increasingly more popular sport in the collegiate universe of the United States. This means that rowers are in high demand to build up the new programs! Rowing scholarships are achieved with hard work just like any other scholarship. Scholarships are super important when it comes to college in today's society with the increasing tuition rates at universities across the globe (a five percent increase!).
FOOD TENTS
The highlight of every regatta is the food tent. Typically, a group of parents volunteer to set up and cook food for the team and their families at every regatta. It's like the ULTIMATE barbecue! It's so much fun getting to hang out at the food tent and cheer on your teammates.
ROWING HAS THE COOLEST TERMINOLOGY
Have you ever caught a crab? Yeah. That's a rowing term. No, it does not mean what you think it does. Catching a crab is something that no rower wants to experience but has to. (Only rowers will understand the pain/frustration of catching a crab!) Let it run! Yeah. Also a rowing phrase. What's a coxswain? Port? Starboard? Try rowing. You'll find out.
YOU LEARN THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME MANAGEMENT
Practices can go anywhere from an hour long to three hours, so rowers really have to learn how to manage their time well. Between rowing and school, you learn how to manage your time and become pretty self-sufficient. To Do Lists are every rower's best friend!
The above items were written by Emma King, 7 Reasons Why Rowing is the Best Sport and slightly modified for the team.