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Rowing news

Triathrow to combine indoor row, swim, run • January Athlete of the Month - Rewis aims for Division 1 rowing

Triathrow to combine indoor row, swim, run
By Jane Harrison

A new multisport event will debut at Riverside Military Academy Feb. 4 with the North Georgia Erg Sprint and Triathrow. The indoor competition organized by the North Georgia Rowing Academy combines rowing on stationary rowing machines with running and swimming.

“We’re pretty stoked about this,” said NGRA Coach Jim Pickens. He expects the triathrow will draw a diverse crowd of athletes with little or no rowing experience. NGRA rowers are recruiting area runners, swimmers and other athletes to team up for the event. A separate erg sprint is also planned.

Pickens and NGRA President Patrick Dunn said they hope the contests generate more interest in rowing and integrate more community members into the sport. They view the triathrow as a recruiting tool that could attract high school distance runners and swimmers to rowing. They aim for 300 to 500 participants.

The triathrow “is designed for a team relay,” Dunn said. Each participant on three-member teams would either row 5 kilometers on an ergometer, run a 5K on the RMA fieldhouse indoor track, or swim 500 yards in the RMA pool. Athletes will compete in high school, collegiate or masters categories with three waves of start times in each category.

Each participant gets lunch and an event T-shirt. Awards will be presented to top teams in each category. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Special Olympics.

More info: www.rownorthga.com, www.regattacentral.com, 770 598-6180

January Athlete of the Month: Rewis aims for Division 1 rowing
By Jane Harrison

Amber Rewis first took to water in a kayak. Now the 16-year-old Mill Creek High School sophomore is eyeing Division 1 schools for a potential rowing scholarship. She recently hit a new time standard in winter training with the North Georgia Rowing Academy and was chosen by Coach Jim Pickens as Lakeside’s January Athlete of the Month.

Background: Rewis, daughter of Crystal and Chad Arden of Buford, was paddling with the Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club three years ago when she first observed rowers out on the lake. “I saw them rowing and it looked like fun, so I tried it and have stuck with it,” she said.

On the differences between kayaking and rowing: “Rowing is a lot more technical,” she said. “And it’s more of a team sport.” She explained that the graceful, uniform movement of eight or four rowers sharing a boat requires a high degree of technique and concentration. She added the sport offers a total body workout by utilizing the torso and legs in each push to propel the boat.

Why she rows: Rewis indicated the mental discipline of rowing transcends into other aspects of her life. “It’s really nice. It’s a mind thing … it prepares you to go through things, to work together. It’s really a mental thing to push through the pain,” she said.

Her specialty: “I really like 5 (kilometer) head races,” Rewis said. She enjoys the challenge of rowing steady state with three other teammates in a boat. Rewis usually occupies the first seat of a 4+ boat.

Training: This winter, Rewis and teammates are working out five days a week in two-hour sessions of land training at Riverside Military Academy. “It’s a mixture of weights, running and ergs,” she said. Her crew expects to be out on the water at the American Legion lake access on Riverside Drive in mid-February.

Accomplishments: “I broke eight minutes (in early December) in the 2000 meters on the erg machine,” Rewis said. She also achieved first place in a double in an Aiken, S.C. regatta. In addition, she was among four NGRA athletes invited to the Sparks Winter Rowing and Coxswain Camp in San Diego last month. There, she expected to meet college coaches.

Goals: I want to row in college … I want to go for a Division 1 college,” she said.

Next competition: She will be competing in the Feb. 4 North Georgia ERG Sprints and Triathrow, a 5K erg, 5K run, and 500 yard swim at Riverside Military Academy. She and teammates will be racing in spring sprints, including the John Hunter Regatta March 24 on Lake Lanier.

Comments from Coach Jim Pickens: The NGRA head coach describes Rewis as fitting the mold for collegiate rowing. “She’s exceptional. She’s the tall, strong athlete every college is looking for,” Pickens said. Her December accomplishment on the ergometer set a pace that her teammates are trying to catch, he said. “She did it twice in two days … she got over the mental block and it happened,” he said. “She’s in her third year of rowing and is still a very young lady,” he added, which bodes well toward her college ambitions.”