Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Rowing Journal - Tatham Dilks
11/9/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Nov. 9, 2011
I started off this year, my first at Bucknell, experiencing for the first time what it was like to not be an athlete. I was not on a team; I had no athletic commitments, no reason, other than getting out of bed, to physically challenge myself and I had more free time than I knew what to do with. Needless to say, I hated it. As soon as the women's rowing team started the Learn-To-Row program, I jumped at the chance to be a part of a team again, even if it was just for a few weeks.
On the last day of Learn-To-Row, Coach Dan invited us to come back the following Monday to try out for a chance to make the novice rowing team. My hallmate, Ally Flessel, and I showed up that Monday unsure of whether we would join the team permanently, but ready for the competition for spots and prepared to make the commitment until the end of October when Coach Dan said the novice team would compete in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.
Everyone that tried out made the team which was exciting because it meant we had enough people to fill and cox four freshmen boats and by the time Head of the Schuylkill came around, we were all eligible to race. The upperclassmen and everyone who had raced in high school told all us newcomers how awesome racing was and how it would make all the work worth it. Practices that were becoming increasingly more difficult would pay off in the form of an awesome day full of rigging, racing, bonding and the promise of mountains of food. Teammate Andrea Seifert assured me in our final practice before we headed to Philadelphia that my first regatta would be an experience I would never forget. From the time we loaded the bus around 5 a.m. on the morning of October 29th, I knew she was right. On the bus, I was advised by experienced members of the team to forget the crowds, forget the other crews, forget the weather and forget the butterflies in my stomach and just concentrate on going as hard as I possibly could for myself and for my teammates. That would make it all worth it - getting to the finish line as fast as possible.
Well, it wasn't hard to forget about any of those things once we arrived in Philly. Except the weather, the crowds and competition had little effect on my concentration, and the icy conditions probably froze the butterflies in my stomach, but the weather was hard to ignore. I remember standing in the freezing rain before our race, waiting to launch our eight, wishing and hoping for any kind of mercy from the weather. It came in the form of snow as our eight crossed the starting line, a welcomed break from the rain, it was just a little too late, as I was already soaked to the bone and numb everywhere. I thought I would be nervous when we got on the water but racing was the best part of the day. The best feeling in the race was the excitement I felt when we first passed another novice crew, it was right out of the start, but it really got me into the mindset of the race. It was particularly exciting because I had confidence in our team and I was completely comfortable with the eight girls I was pulling for.
Although I was promised profusely by upperclassmen that no other regatta would be like that one and I would not have to worry about conditions like those again, looking back, I don't think it was all that bad. I know I will never be colder than I was during that race, but the cold prevented me from feeling the inevitable burning of all the muscles in my body which made me work harder for each stroke and made crossing the finish line that much more satisfying.
- Tatham Dilks '15
