It’s morning.
Very early in the morning.
The current time starts with the number four.
An alarm clock is going off somewhere in the dark and the natural human reaction is to find it and make it stop. At least for one nice, warm SNOOZE.
But the person hearing the alarm and wanting those nine minutes lifts their head instead and forces their body out of bed and into the regular routine of a Western University rower.
The reward most days is less than spectacular. It involves the sharp chill of morning air and a trek through the streets of London to Fanshawe Lake.
The ultimate honour is a whole lot better. Another Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship banner and an opportunity to defend the Mustangs’ national title.
That’s what actually makes it possible to be out of bed and on the water for practice every morning by 5:45 a.m.
Anyone who happens to be up and watching a workout will often comment on the sunrise that you get to see as the rowers go through their workout. No matter how beautiful it is, Waddell admits that after awhile, you almost forget that it is there, but for the new rowers, it is definitely one of the perks.
No matter what is getting them to the water, you cannot argue with what is working very well.
Western’s women’s team captured their fifth consecutive OUA championship on Oct. 28. The men’s team won silver.
Western now heads to Vancouver, B.C. for the Canadian University Rowing Championships from Nov. 3 to 5.
While the Mustang coaches have been well-recognized and well-decorated over the years, Waddell puts a lot of stock in the team members and what they do to preserve certain elements of the program from year to year.
“The student athletes have built a really great culture,” Waddell says. “We really try hard to empower them. They run their own student executive every year who determine a lot of aspects of team policy. The team captains do a fantastic job of taking in the new athletes and educating them on how the team trains and how the team balances academic and athletic commitments.”
Not everyone has what it takes to be a rower. And it isn’t just about being able to wake up early. Still, the Mustangs are constantly and pleasantly surprised by the number of athletes who come out of their novice program and move up, not only through the university ranks, but on to the international stage.
“We’ve had athletes who have come out of novice and they are not always the people who are the tallest but they are definitely the people who strike you right away as being very driven, very determined and not willing to let a lot of things get in their way,” Waddell says.
It doesn’t take long to realize the phrase “hard work” is attached to just about everything Western rowers are up to.
That helps to overcome some of the coaching challenges that can exist with the constant turnover of athletes. This year’s women’s team kept the title streak alive and did so with a number of first-year rowers spread throughout the lightweight and heavyweight disciplines.
Now comes another trip to the nationals and a chance to defend more titles.
“We’ve won the national championship the last four years running, so we are definitely looking to take this streak to five years as well,” Waddell says. “It’s going to be a big challenge. The University of Victoria are both very strong teams, but our heavyweight women’s eight has been looking really good and we have some pretty good athletes on our lightweight women’s side as well. We’re definitely excited to see how we match up.”
For most rowers, all of the preparation, dedication and early morning rising will come down to one last race. Win it or even do well enough to earn big points, and you could be helping to make more history for one of the most storied programs in the country.
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