Joy of rowing discovered
Victoria Lake Rowing Club held their open day for novice rowers at the Germiston Lake.
After an absence of five years, youngsters interested in rowing could be seen trying their hand at the sport on Saturday.
The Victoria Lake Rowing Club resurrected its junior section and held an open day at Germiston Lake.
“This is an official re-opening of our junior section that has not been operational for five years,” said the club’s junior section head coach, Talbot Pule.
“For the past month we have been approaching schools in the area and getting the children interested in rowing.”
Pule said they were excited that the day saw 20 sign-ups of children, between the ages of 13 and 15.
“We had a decent turn-out, enough for us to manage and handle,” he said.
“Today was just an introductory programme because a lot of children are not familiar with the sport and have never been in a rowing scull (boat) before, so we just wanted them to familiarise themselves with the environment.”
The club will meet at the lake every Saturday from 7am to 9am.
Pule also told the GCN that more children are welcome to join the club.
Considering that rowing is a water sport, it is preferable that children, interested in joining, know how to swim though it is not an absolute requirement.
“The club is mainly open to children between the ages of 13 and 15, as this is the best age for children to start rowing,” he explained.
“You find that when the children are younger, they are too small to carry the boats and cope with the physical strain of the sport of rowing.
“The junior section helps develop rowing on a national level, as the more children we reach at a young age, the deeper the pool of talent the federation Rowing South Africa has to pick from and develop future stars.”
Among other activities, the novice rowers were given the opportunity to get in the scull and on the water.
“Though the weather wasn’t favourable with a gusty wind, we managed to get them interested in joining,” said Pule.
To join or for more information, visit the club’s website on www.vlcrowing.co.za.
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