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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

Rowing Parents?

19 replies

Northumberlandlass · 03/02/2019 17:48

Hello, DS started rowing last year & it has become his passion! I was wondering if there are any other rowing parents here?

We can muse about the cold & bitter Head Season & love the long sunny days of Regattas!

DS is competing in JIRR Trials next weekend & I’m nervous for him already!

OP posts:
4point2fleet · 03/02/2019 18:22

I'm jealous- I would love to be a rowing parent!! Sadly we now live in an area with not a rowing club to be seen.

We have gone for sailing instead to satiate the need for floaty things!!

Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 03/02/2019 19:00

It’s a whole new world for me! He spent 9 years playing rugby!

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4point2fleet · 03/02/2019 19:04

You see, if we could be rowing parents we would vaguely know what we were doing. We can rig, de-rig, load and launch rowing boats and we even have an erg at home.

Sailing, on the other hand, we have no idea what we are doing- total dinghy park dimwits!!

Enjoy the riverside life!

Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 03/02/2019 19:18

Thanks 4point 😊

OP posts:
squintsoftheworldunite · 03/02/2019 19:30

Not a rowing parent, but a former sea rower here! Got a lot of enjoyment from it as a teen. All the best to your mini rower

Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 03/02/2019 19:50

Thanks squints 😊

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ATailofTwoKitties · 06/02/2019 14:53

DD started rowing last term and is furious to find that it clashes with another commitment this term.

Frankly, she was easier to live with when the only input needed was 'FEED ME!! NOW!' rather than sympathy for teenage angst, so I'm hoping she'll take it up again ASAP.

billybagpuss · 06/02/2019 15:00

Not quite what you had in mind, but my usually unbelievably passive dog hates your children with a passion.

They are fine when just sat quietly on the canal, but when those nasty rowing boats actually start to move they are evil incarnate and have to be barked out, loudly and probably pretty scarily (sorry) last week it cost me 7 pieces of sausage so your kids could row past in peace. Thats really expensive!!!

So if when you see us coming, you could all just stop rowing and sit still that would be great thank you Grin

(lighthearted, she is still just a puppy and is a work in progress and this is the only issue we really have and it is being managed with sausage)

billybagpuss · 06/02/2019 15:01

PS DD rows, and she also gets barked at.

Andtheskyisgrey · 06/02/2019 15:06

DS will be going to a rowing school next year in the hope he developed my youthful passion for it. He (and I) and more cox build and he is a natural leader. But, he is currently stubbornly refusing to countenance the idea. Need to dig out all my trophies from several decades ago a year or two back to try and enthuse him.

MacavityTheDentistsCat · 06/02/2019 15:54

I'll happily join you, Northumberland lass. I'm not a rowing mother, mind, but a rowing widow and have been for, ooh, about 28 years now. It never ends. Once they have the water in their blood there's no tearing them away. I live for the years in which our summer holiday is not prior to some or other major competition so that we don't have to spend it at a sports camp in order that DH can maintain his fitness. And I can count on one hand the number of years I have NOT spent my wedding anniversary in a flowery dress in Henley on Thames Grin.

Still, it's a fabulous sport and one for life. (And my DH was previously a rugby player too but sadly had to retire due to injuries.)

Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 06/02/2019 18:27

Hello! Sorry, I assumed I had killed another thread.

DS is loving it & training (including erg sessions, PT & now Pilates with a group of middle age women) has taken over.

Andtheskyiagrey a rowing school would be the dream, but there isn’t really the opportunity near us. He’s doing his GCSE’s next year, so still quite young.

Macavity there is a large Senior section of his Club & it amazes me! All ages love it. Even in ‘Head’ weather.

DS is taking part in JIRR trials this weekend, last year they had no chance so we encouraged him to learn from the experience.....this year, after the quad a cracking win last weekend, the pressure & expectations are up there! I’m already nervous.

OP posts:
Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 06/02/2019 18:28

And we had to cancel a few days away last year due to training....

OP posts:
April2020mom · 06/02/2019 19:00

Enjoy it. I was part of a rowing club as a youth. I loved doing it but it was a summer activity only. During the winter we reviewed safety rules and kept our fitness level up at the gym. We also did drills focusing on proper skills and techniques. I love the water.

Original poster
Northumberlandlass · 06/02/2019 19:06

I have to admit when first mentioned rowing, I pictured myself sipping wine on a sunny river bank....the last few months have NOT been like that! 😊

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Andtheskyisgrey · 06/02/2019 19:17

Summer 🤣🤣
I spent every winter weekend freezing my arse to the bottom of a boat! I coxed for two crews which each had two outings each Saturday and Sunday, so I would go out with one, then switch boat while the first one went for a break, switch back, repeat. All my uni years cycling to the river for a morning outing in the dark before getting to my 8am lectures. (I did a full on degree that meant I had to give up rowing post uni, as I was on call too much, so couldn’t commit to a crew). I was permanently cold, wet, hungry and exhausted!

Rowing really isn’t a spectator sport. Hours of hanging around for a brief few minutes of frenetic activity. But I still hope to relive my youth through DS!

BackforGood · 07/02/2019 00:09

I thought this as going to be about people rowing, as in arguing Grin

littlemeitslyn · 07/02/2019 08:21

Me too backfore !

MacavityTheDentistsCat · 14/02/2019 14:14

Andthesky - yes, I agree with it not really being a spectator sport, although the 'bird's eye' view you now occasionally get on TV is quite fun.

I can't really complain though. DH rows for a club with a prime bit of property situated on a glorious lake just in front of thee Alps. And fortunately there is also a rather nice sunbathing lawn ....

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