Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Rowing Journal - Cabin Entries from Elberton, Georgia
2/1/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Feb. 1, 2010
It's my first time in Georgia. On the way to the first morning practice, the radio said it was 18 degrees outside. Record lows for Georgia, but as soon as we pulled into the lot I saw my teammates jump off the bus and hustle to warm up and stretch. All morning people complained about the cold, but less because they were actually miserable and more as the catch line to jokes. Shoving off the dock, the steam and clouds sitting on the water were dense. An eight rowed away from the dock and I watched as my well-humored, hard-working teammates rowed beautifully together away from the dock, into the fog, as one cohesive, mobile unit.
- Cabin 7
The best thing about Georgia is that we never stop training. We may only spend 5 hours of the day on the water, but everything we do together brings us closer to a successful season. In the morning we make sure that everyone in the cabin is awake. At lunch the cabin is a place to unwind, to ask questions and voice what we think we need to work on. We cook dinner together. After dinner, we either play charades as a team, or spend a few hours talking about life – the TV is on, but no one is watching it. Regardless of whether we are actually rowing, the experience of Georgia is a team-bonding exercise, advancing our trust and personal obligations to our teammates and friends.
- Cabin 7
Cabin life includes a lot of time for self-reflection, whether rocking in a chair and concentrating on your stroke, or sitting on the porch and simply watching the water. The birds chirp back and forth between the two banks and the sun bounces off the ripples in the water. What is nice about Georgia is the lack of distractions. When we are on the water, our thoughts are on our stroke, our press, our bow position. Then, when we get off the water we aren't going back to restaurants, vacationers, and busy streets. We return to a desolate state park where our team becomes the population. We prepare our own meals and keep each other great company.
- Cabin 7
I had heard stories about Georgia including pushing a truck up a hill and running miles to and from practice, but I actually had fun on this trip. Since it was shorter than previous years, we maximized our time on the water. The rows are pretty tough, but each time on the water I feel like I am improving my stroke.
– Emily Gladstone '13
Learning to sweep has definitely been an interesting experience. Most of the girls on the team have been sweeping for years, so they started out with much more knowledge and experience. I learned to watch and study the experienced rowers, listen carefully to the coaches and coxswains and figure things out on my own. I am grateful that the eights are big and stable boats. I spent too much time flipping out of my single in the fall, so I really appreciate the security I feel in the bigger boats.
– Emily Gladstone '13
I have been impressed with how well the team has responded to this new version of winter Georgia, and I am confident that our hard work here will help propel us throughout the rest of indoor training and prepare us that much more for spring Georgia. With only six days of rowing compared to the typical nine, all running and body circuits were eliminated from the practice schedule in order to concentrate solely on maximizing our rowing opportunities. This shorter version proposed a unique challenge to the rowers and coaches alike to really focus on each and every stroke of every practice and find even more efficiency.
- Devon Mitchell '10
Although the weather was frigid (17 degrees on day one), we learned ever so much about rowing and about life: how to run the boat, and how to cook chicken; how to unweight the blade, and how to unclog a sink. And most importantly, we learned the value of friendship and camaraderie. After living together for seven days without the distractions of modern civilization, we are most certainly a closer and faster team. Yes, we sometimes doubted we'd make it through the three-a-day practices. Yes, we seriously thought we might have gotten frost-bite. Yes, we thought we might gag if we ate more chicken! But we made it through Georgia and are stronger for it. And when we return to our modern college lives and eat well-seasoned food, we'll think anxiously for our return in March.
– Meghan O'Reilly '10
