Rowing camp gets underway

The second session of the Nassau Rowing Club’s (NRC) Summer Camp is underway and the budding rowers have been in action at Lake Cunningham.

Guardian Sports caught up with Head Coach KariAnne Kulig and some of the campers yesterday morning as they worked on their skills on the choppier than usual water.

“They have been really excited and having a lot of fun,” Kulig said. “They have done a lot of team bonding and race pieces. Some of the kids just started rowing this week, some a few weeks ago and some a year before. I think everyone is getting to know each other and developing their love for the sport. I would absolutely say that everyone has had a great time. The parents are very happy for that.”

For 14-year-old Kaitlyn Rolle, she is enjoying the camp and learning a new skill.

“I am enjoying camp so far and it is very interesting. I got to learn a new skill. It was a bit confusing to learn in the beginning but once you get it, it is pretty easy,” Rolle said.

The Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) student said that she came to the camp because one of her friends rows and her mom suggested that she go to the camp. Rolle likes being on the water and mentioned that she has not toppled into the water as yet.

The camp is free to government school students and 12-year-old Kendrick Ferguson took full advantage of it.

“I am having lots of fun,” Ferguson said. “It is good that I am learning a new sport and finding interest in it. I hope that I can stay in rowing longer. I like meeting new people and I like the water. I also like to practice rowing because it is a lot of fun and I love the fellowship.”

The H.O. Nash Junior High School student said it was a bit scary at first, but once he grasps the concept it will be more fun.

One of the more experienced campers is Jane Orr. Her mother and her brother row.

“It has been really fun and nice to be on the water. We had some harder days but overall it has been fun. The part I like the most is getting on the water and practicing my skills because I haven’t done rowing in a very long time. It has been fun getting back into it.”

She goes to a boarding school in Canada and is still undecided if she wants to pursue rowing as a sport she wants to do later.

Helping out Kulig is Dehron Smith who rows for Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.

“Coach KariAnne was having the program and she welcomed me so much that I decided to contribute and help build the club,” Smith said.

He continued: “It is really exciting to help people. As I remember, summer camps were really an impactful part of my life growing up so I embrace being able to contribute to helping people make use of their time in the summer.”

Smith said he was a walk-on in rowing at Ithaca College.

Kulig ensures that the campers learn every aspect of the sport from picking up the boat on land to putting it in the water and even ensuring that the oar is fixed in the right position. If an oar is backwards, it will slow down the boat and work the rower harder. She has taught them how to start a race.

She wants The Bahamas to grow from having one competitor in rowing at the Olympics to more in the next eight years. Emily Morley was the only athlete to ever represent The Bahamas in rowing at the Olympics, competing at the 2016 Olympics in. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“Rowing is not as well known as some of the other sports. We want younger rowers ages 11 and up who can swim to start getting involved in the sport. It is a full body workout and it trains you just as well as playing two back-to-back basketball games – it is pretty much equivalent to a 2K (two-kilometer) race. We only had one Olympian so far in rowing so we are very keen to develop the sport so some of these kids could be rowing in the Olympics in the next eight years,” said Kulig.

Today, the campers will be racing as the week comes to an end.

Though she currently has 12 campers, Kulig said she still has space for more. Interested persons can contact the Nassau Rowing Club via e-mail at nassaurowingclub@gmail.com. The camp runs until July 30.

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