Kowie set for university rowing spectacle
Rowing crews are champing at the bit to take on the Rand Merchant Bank Universities Boat Race on the Kowie from Thursday September 12 – but the tidal river remains a daunting challenge for even the most skilful of athletes.
The boat crews, from 10 participating universities, have to navigate their “eights” [nine including coxswain] around a variety of near-90-degree corners and avoid numerous sandbanks to complete their 4.5km (men) and 4km (women’s) races.
The dreaded sandbanks are a clear and present danger and they’re flagged by rowers as an important factor – especially on the long straight run, the notorious ‘Killing Fields’ where races are won and lost.
Most rowing competitions take place over 2.2km distances on the “flat”. The Kowie River is a different beast – unique in that being a tidal river, changes in tide, accompanying gusts of wind and negotiating sharp corners are the ultimate test of character and skill.
UWC aim high
University of the Western Cape (UWC) A captain Curtley van Wyk agrees that the race represents some serious challenges that every rower must be ready for as a team.
“As a rower you have got to understand it’s not going to be as flat as the surface we row on at times. You need to understand where the river changes and which side the wind is coming from; is it a head wind a tail wind? You need to be quite focused in terms of what you are doing on the river. The current changes so you have to be super focused.
“If you’re going at speed and you do not have an experienced crew, those 90-degree corners can be a problem. I would say the sandbank just after “old women’s” start 4km up … to me it looks quite a big one and if the coxswain doesn’t tell us in time of the danger, that’s where you lose time or the race. That’s why coaches will always say that ‘this is a cox’s race.”
Van Wyk says the coxes put in many hours making sure they study the course in fine detail.
“You as the rower also need to know the course that the cox is going to give you or lay out to you.”
UWC has never placed higher than 10th as a male crew – and Van Wyk and his team are keen to correct that. “So we are chasing history … and we are going for a higher placing this year.”
Maties: hoping for big things
Dylan Schmidt is Maties Rowing president and University Sports SA vice-chairperson (rowing). He is under no illusions that the Kowie presents to rowers a different but serious challenge.
“Rowing as a sport is quite difficult as it is … no matter what the distance. I think what will be the challenge is the distance. We normally race 2km ‘on the flat’ … this one on the Kowie is 4.4 km and it all depends on how [well] you can navigate the river. Having to negotiate all the corners makes it extra difficult.”
To give it more perspective, Schmidt takes rowing fans and non-rowing folks through the course set-up itself.
“The men and women all start at the top of the river where the dog-leg is. Centenary bend is the first corner, it then opens up at the ‘Pit’, and the notorious ‘Killing Fields’ which is a long straight – and where a lot of the crews start to struggle. Then there’s a second corner that opens up to Bay of Biscay … with the wind pumping at this stage. And once you’re at shipwreck corner, you are under two bridges and the finish line is in sight.”
Maties A rowers after many years tying up 6th to 7th spot, have put rowing front and centre and breakthrough investments have been made in the interim in an all-out effort to turn things around.
“Maties were always on the fringes and always ending round about sixth place; but after proving that there is real rowing potential in our setup by recruiting suitable athletes , we attracted potential sponsors who together with others started supporting us financially. So we are hoping for big things this year,” said Schmidt.
UCT squad changes
The UCT A women’s team have had squad changes this year after they lost out on the title to the formidable Tuks Unit last year. Captain Georgia Watson says it could though be a fight for second spot between them and UJ.
“For Thursday in the heads races we are expecting rough winds, so I think it’s going to be rough for everyone, headwinds in the beginning and some tail winds through to the end so I think that if you are a light crew you will do well in the end, but the heavy crews will struggle a lot more.
“We have three new members added to our team this year … so it will be tough as they have never rowed on the Kowie before. We are expecting tough competition from UJ – they have three national athletes in their squad. Tuks has two national squad athletes … they have a very strong squad and they are the favourites this year.
Tuks: ‘motivated’
Tuks’ men’s A head coach, Thato Mokoena, says his team is aware it will take a huge effort to wrest the title back from UCT. He explains why the challenges of the Kowie River can sometimes get to a rower’s head space.
“With a tidal river, everything is always moving … the other difficulty is coming around corners when the wind is changing, so you kind of have to be proactive as to how you approach every situation. Not necessarily have a set way of approaching different changing conditions, so the eddies, sandbanks … it becomes a challenge and you have to know the right course to take … it’s not like rowing a straight, flat course at all.
“We put in some intense training and the guys are pretty motivated this year … last year was a bit of a challenge with the prep, this year it has gone much better.
“This year we have the right type of athletes, with the right rowing culture and willing to put themselves out there. I think the titles won before was weighing a bit down on them. But this year it’s a great position to be in – as the underdog.
“There are no injuries – everyone is good and healthy to race. We spoke long and hard about the race before coming through to Port Alfred; there are emotions from last year, but there is a lot more excitement as opposed to stress,” added Mokoena.
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