From the December 14, 2008 issue of The Cape Cod Times

Young rowers are up to the challenge

Paul Blackmore Photo Caption: Cape Cod rowers competing on the U16 team heading to South Africa are, from left, Emily Sgarlat, Bailey Smith, Caitlin Mooney and Abbie Young.

By CYNTHIA McCORMICK, cmccormick@capecodonline.com

CENTERVILLE - The late afternoon sun is turning pink on the horizon of Lake Wequaquet as a group of teen girls quietly takes to two rowing shells.

The water's stillness is suddenly broken when four young women in a quad tap out the beat to "We Will Rock You" with their oars.

The Cape Cod Rowing Club is 10 years old and consists of about 50 youths and more than a dozen adults. Most of the younger rowers are girls, but some boys belong to the club, too. Rowers engage in two styles of rowing: When they use one oar, it's called sweep rowing; when they use two oars, it's sculling. The girls and young women in the club typically scull in groups of four in needle-like shells called quads. They also race in a bright pink shell that holds eight. That shell, called "One in Eight" for the number of rowers and the number of women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, put in an appearance at the Head of the Charles Regatta this fall.

"It makes the other crews take them seriously," said Guy Monseair, who coaches the teen girls in the Cape Cod Rowing Club.

Although they are usually the youngest teams in competition, the U14 (14 years and under) and U16 (16 years and under) female rowers have taken home a bronze, silver or gold medal in every race they've competed in during the regular rowing season, often beating college teams, he said.

As a reward and opportunity to improve their skills, eight of the young women Ñ four each from the U14 and U16 group Ñ will be headed to South Africa in February to compete in three events, including the Buffalo River Regatta.

"It's South Africa's equivalent to our own Head of the Charles Regatta," Monseair said.

The South Africa trip will allow the young women to compete against talented high school teams in a country where rowing is taken seriously as a sport, said Monseair, who is from neighboring Zimbabwe.

In the United States, rowing is more common in prep schools than public schools.

In South Africa, middle and high school regattas bring out the crowds, said Emily Sgarlat, Abbie Young and Caitlin Mooney, who visited the country last year.

Parents bring umbrellas and picnic lunches and chant school cheers. Radio stations broadcast the event, the teens say.

Although they anticipate having to take their shells out of Lake Wequaquet this week due to the weather, the rowers will be working out at the gym to prepare for the South Africans, who will be at the height of their season during the Feb. 7-22 trip.

The teens also have been fundraising at various Christmas strolls on the Mid-Cape and will be hosting an auction at the Sandwich Auction House Jan. 3 to raise money for the trip.

"Rowing so often provides an opportunity for students who don't fit into the traditional ball and stick sports," Monseair said.

"It's definitely not an individual thing," said Young, a 15-year-old from Centerville. "You need to have a good team dynamic."

Rowing is not for wimps, Monseair said. Every race is a sprint that draws on team members' last ounce of endurance, precision and agility.

"It's not a stop-and-go sport," said Eliza Spilsbury, 13, of Centerville. "It's just go."