By Taylor Phillips
Copy Editor
Sophomore Sydney Huber rows across the finish line as she competes in indoor rowing races during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Huber was introduced to rowing when she was 13 years old, and she started out rowing recreationally. When she was 14, Huber decided that she wanted to start rowing competitively and is currently competing with Row LA, a rowing club based out of Marina Del Rey.
“This is currently my second year rowing competitively,” Huber said. “My cousin used to row a lot, and I decided to try it out after seeing a flyer to join a rowing team located in Marina Del Rey.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Huber would compete with her team in rowing races, also known as regattas. According to Huber, she had competed in a few indoor rowing competitions before the pandemic but the majority of her races were on the water.
“Before COVID-19, the majority of my rowing practices were held on the water, though we did do some indoor rowing from time to time [along with some races],” Huber said. “I was able to travel to main regattas around California, and the team was even considering an out-of-state regatta before lockdown hit.”
During the pandemic, Huber has had the opportunity to participate in indoor regattas. According to Huber, the machine that she uses to compete in the indoor regattas is called an ergometer, which replicates the motion of rowing while displaying the distance, time and pace of the rower.
“The ergometer that my team uses is called the Concept Two Rower,” Huber said. “This is also the most popular ergometer that rowers use.”
Since regattas are not cleared to be held in person, the indoor regattas function differently from others. According to Huber, some regattas are live virtual events, and some are not. Additionally, the qualifications for rowers to participate in each regatta can also differ from race to race.
“Some [regattas] ask you to just submit a photo of your monitor; other live events will ask you to say your results out loud after everyone’s finished, and many official races require you to hook up your monitor to a computer to digitally upload your progress as you are racing,” Huber said. “In cases such as the first two, you don’t know what place you are in until everyone has submitted their scores, but in cases such as the last example, it will show your placement on your monitor, including how ahead or behind you are.”
Currently, Huber practices 16 hours over a span of six days a week, which includes indoor workouts along with some water workouts as well. According to Huber, she really enjoys rowing and the team dynamics that she and her teammates have created with each other.
“It’s probably the team dynamics for me,” Huber said. “Even indoors, we are able to support and work off one another to improve our own scores. The people I row with quickly became my friends, and they can understand many of the struggles you face as they are right there alongside you.”
Leave a Reply