Hauling a trailer loaded with 12 ergometers, Orillia Rowing Club coach Anne Hodkin and her colleagues are a travelling rowing roadshow that has introduced over 530 high school students in Orillia to the discipline of indoor rowing on the hardwood floors of their school’s gymnasium.

A recipient of the Community Sport for All Initiative funding from Sport Canada and Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA), the Orillia Rowing Club is providing opportunities to a segment of youth athletes who might not have the chance to have rowed before or had the confidence to give the sport a go.

“The great thing about the program is that the students get to try rowing in a setting within the school, where we bring all the equipment and they don’t need anything special, and that’s really important in places like rural Ontario,” Anne shares. “I think this program is really important because it gives girls and women the chance to try something new and challenging.”

The Enhanced Inclusion of Girls and Women program sees Anne and other Orillia coaches travel to all three high schools in Orillia to assist with physical education classes by bringing the equipment and the expertise to them. This innovative strategy enabled 536 female high school students to attempt the sport without any pressure but encouragement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“A lot of our program is aimed for grade nine girls as we want to introduce the sport and encourage them to take physical education as an option in grades 10 – 12 . What we see is there are three broad groups, where there are tiny girls who have not hit maturity yet, who don’t think that they can do the sport because they’re too small,” Anne said. “We’ve got the minority who are in the middle, students who do lots of other sports, and they just get into it. And then we’ve got the girls who’ve gone through maturity, a bit more self-conscious about their bodies, and don’t think that they can do sports anymore. So, what we are trying to do is show them that they can participate in sport and more importantly have fun.”

The high number of female high students participation is a credit to Anne and her team who have adjusted the program content to suit the students.

“We don’t run this like a youth rowing training program because we realized early on that we’re not going to have them increase their aerobic capacity in four classes,” Anne said. “Instead, we aim for participation. We want to have 100% participation. So, at the start we teach them the correct rowing technique, have a short practice and do a ‘Power test’ that gives a readout of watts achieved. Then we talk to the students about what they have achieved and what to think about in the next test. We often get bombarded with questions on what other schools have done, ‘What is the best for their age group we have seen?’ and ‘What can the national team achieve?’. We talk about how they can do better on the next try and get their partners to encourage them. About 98% of the time, they improve on the second turn, and it shows them they can do it and they’re having fun.”

For many of the students involved, the indoor rowing program allowed them to have a new experience with a sport that many had never tried but quickly find themselves enjoying using the erg and challenging themselves.

“It was fun and challenging, something for younger people to try for sure,” Katie, grade 9 student at Patrick Fogarty High School said. “It was enjoyable!”

“The teamwork together, that we all got to work together was a highlight,” Bella, grade 9 student at Patrick Fogarty High School said. “You have to show teamwork in rowing- it’s not an individual thing, you have to work together.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Orillia’s program has been not only been a success with the students and the schools, but the high school teachers have witnessed firsthand the benefits for their students of being in involved in the program.

“I was happy to see my students really push themselves and improve each time. They came into the program a little reluctant but found it really fun once they gave it a try,” Tina Osburn, Health and Vitality teacher at Patrick Fogarty High School said. “They liked to push themselves and have friendly competitions with their classmates. I think the highlight was allowing them to try something new and prove to themselves that they are capable of challenging things. It was great to see them really give it their all.”

“Our students really took well to the rowing and the teamwork involved. It was amazing to hear the sounds of them all rowing in unison for the very first time. All of our faces lit up hearing the sounds and seeing the power we were producing from start to finish of the program,” Jessica Kussen, grade 9 teach at Patrick Fogarty High School. “Students gained self-confidence while improving their endurance throughout the program. For many, it took them out of their comfort zone and pushed them to try something completely different. These experiences for our students benefit not only their health but their self-perception as well.”

As the program attendees advance in their rowing abilities, Anne and her coaching colleagues start introducing other elements such as an erg relay race, encouraging participants to start thinking of strategy, simulating how a crew might compete at a regatta. But for now, the focus of the program is fun and opportunity. Opportunity that may even see the students on the water during the upcoming season. While work has also begun on continuing the indoor rowing program into the future.

“The program has been a huge success, and many of the students and the teachers have requested that we run a program for the boys in the future as well,” Anne said. “It’s exciting to see so many girls and women interested in rowing. I think this program will have a positive impact on the community.”

At the completion of the school sessions, the interested students will be encouraged to join the Orillia Rowing Club’s Training Programs that then leads into on-water rowing in the spring.

Click here for more information about Orillia Rowing Club and the club’s rowing programs.

Register for the Orillia Rowing Club National Come Try Rowing events here.

Date: Saturday 27 May 2023, 9:00am ET
Address: 500 Atherley Road, (View Map)
Email: info@orilliarowingclub.com
Website: orilliarowingclub.com
Social Media: @orilliarc

REGISTER NOW

Date: Sunday 28 May 2023, 9:00am ET
Address: 500 Atherley Road, (View Map)
Email: info@orilliarowingclub.com
Website: orilliarowingclub.com
Social Media: @orilliarc

REGISTER NOW

If you are interested in trying rowing, join Rowing Canada Aviron and our member clubs for our National Come Try Rowing Day this May!

Clubs across Canada will be hosting free and fun events that will provide you with the opportunity to try the sport of rowing in a safe and supportive environment.

Discover rowing with us this May for National Come Try Rowing Day!

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