When the energy an oarsman puts into the boat seems to do nothing but propel the shell forwards; when the crew moves in unison and the boat slides over the water; when it ceases to feel like pulling and starts to feel like swimming, it is said that the crew is rowing with Swing. Swing is the mythical moment in rowing - entirely independent of your size and strength. The work seems to generate more energy and the puddles just spin effortlessly away. Moments like these, usually entirely unexpected and wholly unasked for, are seared into the memory; they may only happen a handful of times in a rower’s career, but the hope of finding that feeling again keeps them training through gusting autumns and bitter winters. The moment a crew starts to row with swing it ceases to be a team working together against water and pin: it becomes a community with the blades, shell and water. Consciousness of rhythm and timing don’t even come into it; there is only the sensation of the shell sliding over the water, the awareness that the blade has become a living thing in your hands and the knowledge that every jump only leads to a faster flight. But often, almost as soon as the feeling has set in, you start to wonder how you’ve created it, you worry that if you do something differently it will disappear… and as soon as you think like that… the feeling’s gone. Stepping out of the boat, there is the elation that comes with having felt Swing, but there is also the consternation of not knowing what it was, as a crew, you did differently in order to find it. Then there’s the disappointment of not knowing why it went away and the wondering if you’ll ever feel it again…
The Equivalent of a rowing high, called Swing (via thekrabbypattysecretf0rmula)
