View

Seeing the world – on a quad or eight

Seeing the world – on a quad or eight

Some of you might have made New Year’s resolutions, including no doubt some about health and fitness. To encourage you I wanted to write about the multitude of opportunities that team sports present, to girls, and of course to us all. So this week’s blog focuses on one of the sports that we are particularly keen on at St Mary’s School, Cambridge – rowing.

Many of you will know that we have an active rowing programme as an exclusive specialism offered to our Sixth Form students, led by our fantastic Mathematics teacher, Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award lead, and rowing co-ordinator, Mrs Sue Brown.

Mrs Brown’s personal experience of rowing is testament to the ways that a keen commitment to sport can bring benefits. She has competed in numerous events across at least 11 countries, and over October half term competed (not for the first time) in a Senior Masters Four in the elite rowing event, the Head of the Charles Race in Boston, Massachusetts, and commented:

“I am so lucky to have been allowed the chance to race there again – it has given me a real lift!”.

Mrs Brown had previously won the much-coveted Senior Singles at the race, in 2009, and was delighted to be competing again for the first time in seven years. Having undergone extensive treatment for breast cancer in 2010, she has explained how her mental focus from sport – “knowing that training has to hurt in order to achieve a result, and pushing physical barriers” – helped her through the treatment. Mrs Brown also took part in the 2015 World Rowing Masters Regatta in Hazewinkel, Belgium.

Mrs Brown trains our Sixth Form rowers, from the base at the City of Cambridge Boat House on the River Cam, and has a great time taking the girls to different races throughout the year. Read about two recent races, the Fairbairn Cup on Thursday 1 December and the Christmas Head on Saturday 3 December, here.

You may also know that more recently we have been delighted to open up the provision to girls from Year 8 upwards, thanks to the generous legacy left by one alumna, Maureen Greenwood. There is now a very active group of enthusiastic Saturday morning rowers, led by our Head of Development and Fundraising, Miss Julie Hogg, and Mr Alister Taylor (Junior Head Coach for this new initiative, which sees the girls joining Cambridge City Rowing Club as Junior Members). The girls have enjoyed increasing their strength and building their endurance during land training, as well as learning how to get into the boat without damaging it, how to put in the oars (blades), how to use the cox box, and all about the rudder and steering. The girls have taken to the sport like ducks to water and we look forward to the term ahead with more girls getting to grips with rowing!

Miss Hogg learned to row and cox at Homerton College and then King’s College, here in Cambridge, during her studies, and has enjoyed taking on the role of cox for a quarter of a century, acting as the brains, the psychologist, the driver, the co-ordinator and the voice of the engine. She has coxed for Scotland, competed at Henley Royal Regatta and National Championships, steered two Veteran University Boat Races for Cambridge, and represented England at the Home International in 2010 (winning gold). Rowing has taken her on some great adventures: introducing her to a diverse range of people whom she otherwise may not have met – from grass roots enthusiasts through to Olympic medallists – and to over 10 countries. She has also enjoyed working with women who have been at the forefront of demanding equal status for women in rowing, for instance the late Beryl Crockford,  who helped change the face of British women’s rowing and never stopped encouraging people to have a go at the sport she loved.

Unsurprisingly, Miss Hogg is another keen advocate of rowing, and has previously spoken out against some of the misconceptions that people often have against the sport – for instance that it is elitist and expensive. It isn’t, or at least, it doesn’t need to be: most rowing clubs are cheaper to join than a gym. Miss Hogg professes that rowing is the ultimate in teamwork and co-ordination:

“a racing eight, where all its members are moving as one with the cox urging them on is a sight to see and the feeling of winning together is amazing. Rowing is a wonderfully supportive and inclusive community too, and is perfect for girls to become involved in as teenagers, especially if they are lacking confidence and might not consider themselves as ‘sporty’”.

I couldn’t agree more! When I was at my all-girls school with my two sisters my Dad was very keen that we should meet some boys and so he decided that the best way to do this was to get us to row! The three of us with another friend often went down to the river and made up our own quad, and we were also always very excited to row in a mixed eight with the boys! I wasn’t especially interested in ball sports, and so it was fortunate that I rowed, as this enabled me to benefit from all of the experiences that team sports offer. Rowing (well) requires the most precise form of teamwork I know: it’s so obvious when it all works well. In an eight, all nine individuals (including the cox) have to be in unison. If you aren’t, you will, quite literally, get nowhere.

From school-aged rowing I went on to university and rowed for my college, in the bow position (at the back, setting the balance), and managed to win ‘blades’ from St Anne’s College – a personal triumph indeed. As well as developing the ability to work in unison with team mates, rowing also develops people’s understanding of commitment to others: having to get up for training at 5.30am on frosty mornings quickly establishes dedication to your team. Girls’ rowing was not as popular as it is now, and so I was able to immediately join my college’s 1st boat as soon as I started university. This helped me to easily establish myself socially in what can be a daunting setting. The same is undoubtedly true for young people across the country, who start university confident in the knowledge that their sport or other interest will enable them to quickly make new friends.

This is just one more reason to remind young people that there is more to be gained from their time at school than academic achievement alone.

From the camaraderie, resilience, confidence and opportunities that rowing develops, to the water safety awareness, co-ordination, problem solving and leadership skills, I would think most people would be hard pushed to find something not to like about rowing!