ROWING I
f you're a student on campus at the University of Wis- consin you have probably been to the Student Orien- tation, Advising and Registration (SOAR) in the sum- mer and fall. There's also a chance that you might have been approached by one of the coaches from the
men's or women's rowing teams inviting you to try out for a spot as a walk-on.
"No previous rowing experienced required," is one of the lines that helps draw people in, and let's be honest, how many people actually have any previous rowing experience? If you're like me, you maybe knew of the sport but prob- ably brushed it off as something that Harvard or Yale did to kill time between their polo and yachting sessions.
If you're a student on campus at the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin you have probably been to the Student Orientation, Advising and Registration (SOAR) in the summer and fall. There's also a chance that you might have been approached by one of the coaches from the men's or women's rowing teams inviting you to try out for a spot as a walk-on.
"No previous rowing experienced required," is
one of the lines that helps draw people in, and let's be honest, how many people actually have any previous rowing experience? If you're like me you maybe knew of the sport, but probably just brushed it off as something that people from Harvard or Yale did to kill time between their polo and yachting sessions. But the chance to become an NCAA Division I student-athlete is appealing, especially to those who enter college having played sports in high school and missed their calling.
While I am not a new student at the University of Wisconsin, I am, however, new to the univer- sity. Having moved to Madison in June of 2011,
48 ยป VARSITY MAY 17, 2012
I was newly employed with the Athletic Commu- nications office, where I would be working close- ly with assigned sports throughout the year. One of my assigned sports was working with the row- ing teams.
"Great," I thought. I knew nothing of the sport, except that I had
seen some people rowing on the Iowa River in Iowa City, back in my high school and college years.
So without knowing the difference between starboard and port, I took the assignment in stride and set out to learn more about the sport. I met with the Chris Clark, head coach of the men's rowing team, and Simon Carcagno, the novice coach for the men. The two run a great program and warmly welcomed me, even though I knew nothing about the sport they loved. After trying to soak up as much as I could about rowing from the informal meeting, Simon had a brilliant idea.
"Why don't we just throw you in a boat and let you have a go?"
