If you have a teenager looking for something to do this summer, the Orillia Rowing Club (ORC) may have the answer with its unique Learn to Row program.
With the recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions from Row Canada and government health authorities, the Orillia Rowing Club has been able to open its doors and offer a summer program – with a difference.
That difference is what makes this summer a perfect time to learn the sport of rowing. The Learn to Row program, for 14- to 18-year-olds, features one-on-one instruction, supporting the club’s adherence to Row Canada’s updated COVID-19 guidelines.
Learn to Row programs are typically offered in a group situation, but this year, each new rower is assigned an individual schedule for one week of daily lessons with ORC boathouse manager and coach, Sam Fedde.
“We are excited about being able to offer this program and fortunate to have Sam working with us this summer,” said ORC Board of Directors member, Glo Cabugao. “He brings his experience as a single scull rower and as a member of the varsity rowing team at McMaster University.”
Fedde is familiar with the Orillia Rowing Club from his experience as a member over the past few summers, where last year he received the Volunteer Award. He is a graduate of Twin Lakes Secondary School and is now about to enter his final year of the Anthropology program at McMaster.
“I first became interested in rowing at my university’s club days,” said Fedde. “By second year I realized I wanted to get more involved and tried out for the team. I went to two tryouts, which were exhausting, but I made the novice team, and now I’m hooked.”
For Fedde, rowing is a sport where you need to be extremely focused.
“Not only do you have to follow stroke (rower setting the pace), you need to be concise and powerful. When you’re putting a ton of power into your stroke as part of a crew, it feels great when you hear the water run under the boat – meaning we’re moving fast," he explained.
Now Fedde is sharing his love of the sport with new rowers like Orillia Secondary School student Max Woodward. Woodward learned to row last year with the ORC high school program and now rows three or four times a week at the club.
“I row for the exercise and to improve my skills,” says Woodward. “It turns out these can be really unsteady boats, I have flipped often, but I enjoy trying to improve. I like having control of everything when you’re in a single. It’s just you – it means you can’t help but work on improving all the time.”
During his first year on the water, Woodward competed in two regattas and looks forward to improving his skills in preparation for competition when it resumes in the future.
With competition and regattas on hold for now, the ORC is taking advantage of its ability to offer instruction in a safe environment.
“I think we must be the safest club in Orillia,” said Fedde. “After each row, the boats and oars are washed, rinsed and disinfected. And with our staggered times for recreational rows and instruction, being safely distanced isn’t a problem.”
This summer’s Learn to Row program includes instruction and coaching, use of equipment, club t-thirt, mandatory Row Ontario and Rowing Canada fees, plus unlimited rowing for the rest of the season (to the end of October). To get started, or to find out more, contact the Orillia Rowing Club at 705-326-3519 or email [email protected].
“It’s a great way to get outside and learn something new,” says Fedde, who looks forward to introducing the sport of rowing to some new young athletes.
