Think you might want to learn how to row in those sleek shells you’ve seen on the Chester River? If you’re 14 or older—there’s no upper age limit—the Chester River Rowing Club’s six-week “Learn-to-Row” classes will run from May 18to June 19, at the Washington College Boathouse on Quaker Neck Road.
Whether you want to row for fitness, fun or to compete, the only prerequisite other than generally good health is that novices must be able to swim. There are no strength requirements; rowing quickly builds leg, core and upper body muscles.
Some who join the novice classes want to become coxswains—that’s the “extra” crew member in a four- or eight-rower boat who steers, sets the stroke pace and acts as an on-board coach and cheerleader. Middle and high school students sometimes learn to row or coxswain in anticipation of joining a college rowing team.
Washington College Waterfront Director John Wagner, who helped establish the Chester River Rowing Club in the 1980s, likes to stress that rowing is “a lifetime sport.” Chester River Rowing Club classes in recent years have included novices in their teens, seniors in their70s and 80s, and men and women of all ages in between. Most have never rowed before.
The session on Saturday, May 18, is an orientation and safety review class. After that, novices will return for classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings, from 6 to 8 pm, when they’ll learn to handle oars in the boathouse training tanks at first, then move to various size shells (weather permitting) on the river.
Though there are no organized classes on Saturday mornings after the opening session, novices are invited to row with experienced club members in large boats on Saturday for the remaining weeks of the course.
Newcomers will learn to carry and launch boats and they’ll have opportunities to row single and double sculls (where each rower has two oars) as well as fours and eights (called “sweep” boats, where rowers each have both hands on one larger oar). They’ll learn to start and stop rowing according to the coxswain’s commands, “Ready all, row!” and “Way ’nuf!” and to stay in synch with the other rowers in their boat.
Kendall Ruffatto, president of the Chester River Rowing Club, said she started rowing at 56 because she wanted to get in shape. A native of Chestertown who’d long watched college boats go by, she said rowing intrigued her.
“It can be challenging to learn, but it’s also fun and it’s a great way to meet new people,” Ruffatto said. “I was never a very athletic person, but since I started rowing, I’ve been in the best shape I’ve ever been in, and I’m doing something I really love. You can’t beat that!”
Masters rowing, for anyone 21 and up, is the fastest growing segment of the sport, and it’s easier on knees and other joints than impact sports. Some people are surprised to learn that, because of the shells’ sliding seats, the sport builds leg strength as well as core and upper body strength.
“Anyone in good general health can learn to row,” said Deb Davis, head of Emergency Medicine at Chester River Hospital Center who’s rowed since high school. “Novices who stay with it tend to lose weight, improve muscle tone in their arms, legs, shoulders, back and abs, and they improve their stamina, too. There’s no sport that gives you a better all-around workout.”
There’s another thing that Davis loves about rowing, she said. “For me, there’s nothing like being on the Chester River at sunrise or sunset, when the water’s perfectly flat, with Canada geese, great blue herons and an occasional bald eagle for company. There’s no gym in the world that can offer that.”
The Chester River Rowing Club’s “Learn to Row” brochures are in Chestertown at Evergrain Bakery, Scottie’s Shoe Store, Play It Again Sam’s, and the Kent Athletic and Wellness Center. A brochure also is posted on the club’s website: https://www.chesterriverrowingclub.com/novice.php
The novice class will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
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