Spring 2007 Two Rivers rowing Club welcomed International Students from China and Mexico. The High School Exchange Students welcomed the challenge of rowing. As all of the students proved to be highly physically fit, they had never been introduced into rowing.
Our first challenge was the language barrier whcih proved to be more humourous than anticipated. In the end, it was decided that we should just go with the flow with our language barriers and come up with our own variation of rowing instructions in english, chinese and the use of new sign language. Nothing is ever too technical for a rower at heart!!!!
Now we had to get our kids out on the water, much to everyone's surprise with everything we had going against us, all of our rowers along with our international students were rowing, some like graceful swans, and some no quite so graceful especially when the forces of mother nature are against you.
A group of eight and the force of one, mother nature! Who knew that mother nature combined with a tree had more power than a small engine boat. There they were against a tree in the river glued with the force of a magnet, an audience on shore, the coach boat doing its job, and mother nature taking them back to this one spot, after about a half hour our mighty rowers rowed free of the clenches of mother nature and headed upriver to the awaiting docks and to exchange tales of their ordeal with a tree!
After much training both on water, and indoors at the CFB Gagetown Recreation Centre all club rowers were ready to move on.
With all the challanges our rowers faced over the past season, our international students along with hundreds of other high school students participated at the High School Indoor Rowing Championships in Rothesay NB representing their perspective schools abroad.
It was an honor and an experience to be able to work with our International Students. A big hand to the OHS Rowing Club members who participated in the training sessions with our new students.
Representing The Concord College of Sinu Canada,
Yu Lu, Yuan ZhiLin, Shuyao Duan, Si Lu, and representing Mexico, Mauricio Sanchez.
