Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019
Appendices
Rowing: Cult or Committed? BTI , March 2005 By Shannon Hamilton
Don’t worry; if you don’t know what an erg is, or you don’t know what a blade is, and you aren’t worried about your split, you are not alone. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been told that rowing is a cult. Every rower has a rowing wardrobe, of which green and gold are staple colours. As well, rowing is all rowers seem to talk about and sometimes they sound as though they are speaking a different language. At 8:00 at night, when most people are on MSN, or watching their favourite show, rowers are signing off to go get ready for bed. Plus, have you ever tried to tell a rower that you’re tired? This is not a smart move. Rowers seem to eat, sleep, and live rowing. Literally. To everyone in the school who isn’t a rower, we might seem a little…insane, to put it lightly. The popular belief that there is something very cult-like about rowing at Havergal is understandable. I mean, who wakes up at 4:30 in the morning just to voluntarily go down to Lake Ontario and freeze to death? Now I cannot promise you that alt the HC rowers are mentally stable, but I will say there is no conspiracy going on at 6’clock in the morning during practice. Just like other teams, we practice, compete, and have school rivalries. We still have a life outside of rowing (although it may not always seem that way) and we still have to get all our work done. Even if it seems like rowers are giving up a lot for a mere sport, the truth is it’s because we love what we do. We’re really just a group of crazy girls who want to be the best we can be. I probably wouldn’t be friends with a lot of the people with whom I am friends if it wasn’t for rowing. Maybe rowing is a cult. All I know is that I love to do it. So are we a cult, or are we just committed? You decide.
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