If you’ve watched any of the interviews we have done as Boats and Blades, you will know that one of the key questions we ask is: ‘What impact has rowing had on your adult life’?  Without exception, we have heard the positive life lessons people have learnt as oarsmen.

With 2021 drawing to an end, many will be feeling battered after a tough year. Using the analogy of a race, I want to share a life lesson that rowing taught me and hope it will encourage you. The life lesson I want to share is Finishing Strong.

As oarsmen, we know the feeling of being at the starting line, anxiously awaiting the umpire’s starting orders. This is followed by an explosion of power as you work on getting the boat moving.  In a very short period of time, every part of your body testifies to the fact that you are now racing, and there is no thought of pausing until you cross that finish line.  

Regardless of the distance, or how many pushes you’ve had over the course of the race, it is often the last 300 meters (only 30 strokes) that determine the outcome of your race. With this in mind, coxswains the world over know that no-matter how tough the race has been, the crew would rather give more, than regret being pipped at the post. So, regardless of the pain, every oarsman responds to the call for the final push, and no matter what the outcome, there is a deep satisfaction that comes from knowing that you gave it your all. 

This is as true in life as it is in rowing, and I am grateful that even in the hard times I can draw on this analogy.

As testimony to finishing strong, I want to thank everyone who has been a part of the JBB story over the past 2 years.  We are seeing and hearing that the success of the JBB initiative is getting attention from the wider rowing community. What it speaks of is the fact that when a group of like-minded people come together, there is very little that can stand in their way.

Many will already know that it is our mission to make Jeppe Rowing a leading force in school rowing and making it possible for every boy at Jeppe to experience the sport through the provision of good equipment and support. If this year has shown us anything, it is that everyone’s contribution counts, no matter the amount.

If 2021 was a race, the result is one we can be proud of.  In the context of JBB, we have funds and commitments that have allowed us to pay back over 65% of the loan for the 13 boats purchased at the end of 2020, we have seen the community grow in terms of numbers and engagement and are well on the way to having a keepsake coffee table book that will represent the collective experience of Jeppe Rowing over the decades.  

Thank you

Greg