This past weekend I took a rather unusual trip with my three older kids. We flew to Aiguebelette, France to watch the World Rowing Championships. My husband competed there for the US team in 1997, the last time the Worlds were held there, so it was a special opportunity for us to revisit that site with our kids and a chance for them to learn more about what it means to compete on an international level. As I sat in the stands alongside the beautiful lake I had time to think about how incredibly difficult it is to reach the very top level in any sport. Rowing is a notoriously painful sport with grueling training regimes that have now been made famous by a great book, Boys in the Boat. In many of the races we watched, mostly about six minutes long, the winners and losers were separated by just a few seconds, and sometimes by tenths of a second. Often the fifth or sixth-place finishers (there are typically 6 boats in a race) led the field for much of the race. It was exciting to watch, but also devastating. We sat in the friends and family section and at the end of each race we were sitting side by side with parents weeping with pride while others held back tears for their child who crossed in the back of the pack.
The interesting, perhaps confounding, thing about rowing is that even if you are wildly successful, you will never become rich or famous. The US women’s eight just won gold at the Worlds for the 10th consecutive year, and yet very few people would recognize any one of these women on the street. So what is it about rowing and sports in general, that captures our hearts and minds and makes people willing to sacrifice so much just for the chance to compete? And, for that matter, what is so engaging that spectators are willing to travel thousands of miles to watch a race that lasts six minutes? In today’s world of multi-tasking, device juggling, and screen toggling, I think it is the purity of sports that is so compelling. The total and complete focus that is required to participate even as a beginner, but especially as an elite athlete. Rowing in particular requires that every athlete in the boat is entirely devoted to the task at hand for the entire race, every oar must mirror the others, and any slip could dramatically slow the boat. There is no opportunity to do anything fancy that will differentiate one rower from the rest of the crew, it is a humble enterprise in that respect. The focus is just on doing something really hard, perfectly, over and over. If you have not seen it, trust me, it is inspiring to watch. If you want to see for yourself check out the coverage on www.row2k.com.
