Newcastle University Boat Club
Rowing is the ultimate team sport – it demands complete focus, determination, and effort. Rowing is about concentration and consistency, ensuring that you are attacking each stroke with precision and power, and trusting in the fact that your crew mates sitting in the boat are doing the same thing, with a shared goal in mind.
Rowing is more than a sport; it teaches you life lessons that you will carry with you beyond your time at NUBC. The self-discipline of waking up early to turn up for yourself and your crew, the commitment of actively participating in training sessions, the responsibility and accountability, but the most important thing that you will take away from rowing, is the unmatched teamwork.
Having 8 people move together to propel the boat as one is a feeling that is indescribable. This requires consistent training, focus, time, and trust. Chasing this becomes addictive, you will fall in love with the sense of achievement and feeling of strength. When you work so hard with a crew to achieve the goals that you have set for yourselves, you create a bond that is unparalleled. You see each other at your very best and are there for each other at your worst. You learn to appreciate what each person brings to the crew, whether its control, leadership, focus, strength, or the person that makes everyone laugh – each person is an integral part of the team.
If you talk to anyone who has rowed before, they will beam with passion and pride, and it’s often difficult to get them to stop. If you don’t know anyone that has rowed, then see what some of our members have to say about why they love rowing at NUBC:
“To row, you need to have grit. Grit is about not giving up; not stopping before the end of the piece, not snoozing the 5am alarm, and not letting anything get in the way of doing what you love.
As such a small club, our volunteer capacity is crucial, the club’s consequent sense of community and culture is built off the back-bone of grit.
The ever-changing family we are creating at Berry Park has only grown my love for rowing. I already knew I enjoyed the sport from the moment I took my first stroke back in 2014, but since being at NUBC, rowing is something that I love. It is more than physical activity for me but is an environment where I can exhibit grit.
The community at NUBC is truly why I continue to row there, to feel the camaraderie as 8 people rowing in time commit to pushing the boat that little bit further” – Lucy (Surveying and Business).
“Mornings spent at the rowing shed are one of my favourite parts of my day. I arrive as the sun is rising and the fog is lifting. The trees with the orange and pink sunrise are reflected on the river and it’s a kind of quiet that makes everything feel calm. The greatest part is that I get to experience it with the amazing friends that I have made through the club. It’s part of the day that I would not want to miss” – Darcee (Nursing).
“I really enjoy rowing at NUBC because it gives me a platform to prove to myself that I am capable of success and improvement. I have made lifelong friendships here through the positive team-based environment NUBC upholds” – Holly (Medical Engineering).
If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please reach out to us at secretary@nubc.info or through our website nubc.com.au.
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