It's My Time.

As I looked down the race course watching our novice boats come through the line, I thought to myself how much more time they have to improve and just how many more times they get to race Head of the Hooch. How much time they have while my time here has seemingly run out. This thought process leads to me thining about how much I am going to miss my team next year; FSU Crew has been everything for me for the past four years, how am I expected to let that go so easily? What am I going to do without these people? My mind questioned and continued to wonder, "If I had not joined my freshman year, where would I be at this very moment?" "How would my life be different?" It even puzzled me to think about how I ended up in this sport. The Greatest of the Fall Regattas- Head of the Chattahoochee would be my last fall race after returning the past four years to race the same race and then the thought crossed my mind, "What am I doing here? How much have I missed out on just to be a collegiate athlete?" "What am I supposed to do next year?" Deleuze and Guattari say, "Where are you going? Where are you coming from? What are you heading for? These are totally useless questions." I guess I will have to follow their words of advice and leave the useless questions behind and enjoy my last year as a rower of The Florida State University.

textdontwalk.blogspot.com

Novices

Each year there is always a new group of rowers that come to Florida State excited to row in a collegiate setting. These new rowers are referred to as Novices meaning they have rowed collegiately for under a year- once their first year at FSU Crew has come to an end, each rower is moved up to Varsity- a category they will remain for the rest of their time as a rower. As our new Novices are adjusting to life as a college athelete, our new Varsity members are adjusting to the rigourous demands of the Varsity squad. There always seems to be a divide between the old and the new yet the older Varsity members do their best to help new Varsity make the adjusment each year.

Dear New Varsity, 

Novice year is a glorious year. Nearly every regatta the team attends, you come home with clinkage. Power is your best friend. Unfortunately, that year is over. Welcome to our world where racing in the Varsity category is much more difficult and time consuming. This is no longer a game of who can pull the hardest for a specific amount of meters, now your technique is constantly called into question. You can't afford to be a millisecond behind your stroke, you can't afford to let one inch go, and most importantly, you can't afford to lose. It is a rough road in the beginning but we are here to help. We have the focus, the skills, and the drive you need in order to be successful as a Varsity member. We want to help you into the winner's circle, but not without hardwork and dedication. "We're trying to bring it to you, so maybe one day soon you can feel it too. Well not just you but everyone." We must all push each other past our limits. We are a team and we shall succeed as a team. 

Sincerely, 

The Old Varsity

http://feelingcopasetic.blogspot.com/

I didn't choose this lifestyle, it chose me.

It was the perfect way to clear my head. Rowing away from the dock, I knew I could leave life on land for on the water it was all about me. The stress that had accumulated seemed insignificant and what mattered was how I intended on making my boat move faster. From the day I first placed my oar in the water, I knew I was addicted- it was like a drug. As dancing in Mumbo Jumbo, rowing became my form of Jes Grew, I felt unstoppable and unbeatable against every order, school, or team that dared to challenge my ecstasy. To this day I cannot put a finger on it, I'm not sure if it was the weather or just the simple solitude that made me blissful. It is truly difficult to explain how I ended up a rower or the drive any athlete has to win. Lucky for me, I found my drug lost somewhere in a rhythm of the slide or the flip of the oars. No one will ever come close to how I felt that day when I took my first stroke.   

http://iboughtmyeyes.blogspot.com

Lost in the wake of the Romanian Women's Eight.

In the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia, Romania came out on top having taken home the gold in the Women's Eight+. Soon after the Olympians left their mark, the race course was reconstructed into the John Hunter Regatta, an collegiate invitation-only regatta that occurs every year during the month of March.

While the race course was reconstructed into a collegiate regatta, nothing from the Olympics has been demolished including the inital watch tower that held the officials that year. The Women's Eight+ is one of the biggest races in the rowing world and on Lake Lanier; the Florida State University had not traveled to the John Hunter Regatta in three years- atleast until 2012. Having received an invitation to race, the Women's Varsity Eight+ was prepared yet pressured, excited yet afraid. The Romanian's were foreigners the the Olympic final that year, just as FSU Crew were foreigners to the John Hunter Regatta. We were in a different state just as they were in a different country, both needing to race on a course they had never seen before; we were in the same shoes as the Romanian's. We had just arrived at the race course and immediately launched for a practice row with only the thoughts of winning running through the minds of the Women's Varsity Eight+.

The next day had dawned upon us and the Women's Eight+ race was the second race of the day right behind the Men's Eight+. Our row to the starting line was quiet. It was easy to tell everyone was nervous but we had no choice but to row our hardest for a near eight minutes. We take our last breaths, the official polls the start as we sit at attention and within seconds yells "ROW!"  FIRST off the start, our boat found our rhythm ripping at our oars, tunnel-vision quickly beginning to set in with the only motivation coming from our screaming coxswain and the drive within ourselves screaming, "I WANT IT!" Neck and neck with three other schools, rowing is a game of inches. Fighting each other for the number one spot, with every stroke came a different school as the leader. If we wanted it we had to show it- Florida State was a crew to be afraid of. Slowly, we inched forward with the University of Florida left in our wake. Emory was not letting up following right behind our lead. Pulling away from UF and the College of New Jersey- it came down to FSU and Emory schools battling for glory. We approached the last 500 meters, we began the sprint early. We NEEDED this win- this was OUR race. Emory slowly closing in on the 2000 meter mark, the ladies of the Women's Varsity Eight+ unleashed an incredible power that FSU had no choice but to match. The last 25 strokes- who had it? Even the officials had a hard time determining who was first. And then, it happened- our team, standing right at the 300 meter mark, was screaming at the top of their lungs, "F-L-O-R-I-D-A-S-T-A-T-E, FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA STATE!"This pushed our boat so far past our threshold that we pulled ahead of Emory right in the last 5 strokes; beating them by four tenths of second. My immediate response was to scream but I had nothing left in me- we had just conquered all odds to win this race in 2012 just like the Romanian's had in 1996.

http://foreignertypes.blogspot.com/

"OBSESSED is a word the LAZY use to describe the DEDICATED"

A small glimpse into my world would be confusing for many. My daily life is spent around boats, water and oars; I live in a world very different from most college students. Many people question my motivation, my dedication and more or less, my insanity- as some may see it. 

            Thousands of collegiate athletes across the world, train just as hard, if not harder, as I do all throughout the year- there are others like me. We form an interesting group of athletes whose lives revolve around teamwork, dedication, and pain. Together, we try to describe our lives and our drive; our sport means the world to us. Rowing is the sun and its athletes are the planets. We are drawn in by a force we can not seem to explain yet we all feel like we have found some place where we belong. I spend the majority of my time up at 5AM, running and erging until I can push my body no further- there are others like me. It is a safe assumption that I live and breathe rowing. If I could spend all of my time rowing, I would. Rowing is a growing sport that attracts new athletes every year and seems to have the same effect on everyone else as it does for me. Our love for this sport has taken over our schools and our teams all over the country; we're all "obsessed." In this sport, I am not alone- there are others like me.