Grade 9 Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School students had the chance to head out on the water on Tuesday as part of a session with the Central Alberta Rowing Club.
Nine students got to climb into three boats and row around a portion of Lacombe Lake.
Central Alberta Rowing Club volunteers dropped by Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School a couple of weeks ago to do dry-land training with the students, showing them the technique on land before going to the lake.
Andy Nokes, director of youth rowing, boats and equipment with the Central Alberta Rowing Club, said on Tuesday the objective was to give the students the chance to feel what it’s like to row in a boat. The biggest challenge for the students was getting comfortable even though they felt a bit unbalanced.
Nokes who has rowed for around 40 years, since he was a 14-year-old in the United Kingdom, said it’s a bit like how beginner bikers at first feel like, they’re flopping around from side to side and feeling a bit insecure.
But eventually once someone has mastered the proper technique and balance they glide through the water.
“It’s probably one of the fastest ways of moving yourself through the water and there is a lot to think about. So it’s a sport that demands concentration,” said Nokes, who is a mechanical engineer and enjoys the sport because he can focus in on the technique and forget about everything else.
This summer young people learning how to row have the chance to work with coach Klara Langhoffer, who is from Hungary, and competed in the Olympics in 1980 and 1984 as a rower. She started corresponding with Nokes in October and will be in Canada coaching for the next three months.
Langhoffer said she hopes she will be able to help the students with their balance and inspire passion in the sport. She said in a country like Canada, where everyone has a tendency to focus on hockey it can be a challenge, but she hopes to help young people learn more about the sport.
Sam Kinsella was one of the nine Grade 9 Recreation Education students who took part on Tuesday and was in an old racing quad — a four-person boat — with three of his classmates. Nokes was advising them what to do from a one-person boat close to them. Kinsella said he thought they might flip it a couple of times and joked that Nokes picked another boat for that reason, but they fared well.
“I thought it was pretty fun. I thought it was cool,” Kinsella said. “It was a little shaky at first trying to keep the boat balanced, but it was fun.”
Kevin Tennant, a counsellor and teacher at Lindsay Thurber, said the students are really fortunate that they had this opportunity thanks to the rowing club. He was pleased they all stayed dry. “They’re not in the water and that is probably pretty good with a new skill like this,” Tennant said.
Young people wishing to find out more about the Central Alberta Rowing Club can contact Nokes at 403-782-0732 or by e-mail at CABC@xplornet.com.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com