#sculling

[marejadilla]

Mike Worrall, “Sculling the Forest” 1991-1996, oil on panel. B. 1942, Matlock Derbyshire, UK.

[testoster-bones]

Many of my friends will know by this point that Harrison Browne is my hero. Its kind of obvious, I'm trans and like watching ice hockey, and he's a trans (ex) ice hockey player. But there is a lot more to it than just that and I wanted to share it.

I am a rower. I enjoy rowing. I love rowing. I want to row competitively, maybe forever, I want to go for a rowing scholarship to my dream uni (McGill), I see a future with rowing. I love it. It’s my sport. but I’m also trans. and I always thought if I ever came out to my fellow rowers, to my club, then I would not be able to row anymore because clearly I am a boy so I cant row with the women but I’m not cis so I cant row with the men. I could hide my identity, row with the women, but I would never want to do that. So I told myself that I can row, and I can have fun, whilst I’m still in senior school. but I would always, always, know that someday, as soon as rowing got serious, I would have to pick between the sport I love and my ability to be myself. I would have to choose between two parts of my soul, and I would have to rip one of them off. and I always knew, that when the choice came, I would give up rowing. and it hurt so much to think someday there would be a day I would have to leave the blades behind simply so I can be myself, but unfortunately that’s the reality of being a trans athlete. Equality doesn’t even come into it, I see lots of people saying trans men shouldn’t be allowed to play men’s sports and trans women shouldn’t be allowed to play women’s sports, and i see people saying that trans men should be allowed to play mens sports and trans women should be allowed to play women’s sports. Whilst the first statement is in most cases coming from a place of bigotry, it is correct. It shouldn’t come from a place of bigotry, even though it does, but regardless of whether or not it is a transphobe saying it, it is correct.

I will never be able to compete in men’s rowing. That is a very sad reality that I have to accept.

I will never be able to be my true self and row in the same space

Or so I thought

I discovered Harrison Browne when I was on Pinterest. He doesn’t play anymore, and he’s an actor now, so someone was pointing out the cameo he made in one of the scenes of Heated Rivalry. I looked at the comments, and i saw he was an ex pro-hockey, so I decided to look more into him. I’m so glad I did because it changed my life.

He came out as trans whilst he was still professionally playing hockey. He had been out to most members of the league beforehand, just not publicly. He continued to play after coming out. He could never go on T whilst still playing, but he could still play. And he did still play. And whilst people judged him, sure, there were also people who supported him.

Harrison Browne taught me you do not need to give up your sport to be trans. There will always be limitations and difficulties, but you do not have to choose. You can be yourself and compete professionally. You can be a trans athlete.

And whilst I don’t feel ready to come out to my rowing club yet, Harrison Browne reminds me that someday, I can. and when I am in the women’s changing rooms, feeling awkward and out of place, I think of him and he reminds me that I am possible. I may not be able to row in men’s leagues, but I can be one part of myself without throwing away another.

Harrison Browne is my hero because he is a testament to the fact that I can be wholly me and do not have to choose.

[of-fear-and-love]

Nicolas Cage in The Boy in Blue (1986)

[frank-o-meter]

Edward Hanlan (July 12, 1855 – January 4, 1908) was a Canadian professional sculler (rowing). In 1880, he won the World Championship in a race against Australian Edward Trickett.

In 1926, a statue of a mustachioed, shirtless Hanlan, was unveiled on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition.

[hillwoodhouse]

Mornings on the river.

[twentifyve]

Single Scull Morning (I'm jealous) August 13th, 2024 | Canon Powershot SX740 HS Follow for more of my original photography!

[crows-bottle-cap]

Rowing Quote of The Day

sorry i wasn't paying attention, i was taking off my pants

[theeretblr]

You wanna tell your Stephen Redgrave story again, now that we're on the topic of rowing?

Sure! Story time! :D

So there is a world renowned rower called SIR Steve Redgrave. He's the best male rower in Olympic history, he won gold medals in FIVE consecutive Olympics and is often regarded as one of the best Olympians of all time. (If you want to see more, you can find it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Redgrave)

His son, Zak, was in the year above me in school when our rowing team was just getting started; I was about 14/15 at the time. One weekend we planned a family rowing event, parents could come down to watch their kids row and some even took part in rowing. SIR Steve Redgrave was one of the people who took part.

It was decided that we would have a competition between a boat captained by SIR Steve Redgrave, and another boat captained by an ex-professional Australian rower who was also the father of one of the members of our team (sorry, I forgot their name). Zak picks me to be part of his 4 man team which consists of him, his dad SIR Steve Redgrave, myself, and one other person.

We get in the boats and line up to race. Someone on shore counts down:

"On your marks, get set... GO!"

And BOOM we're off! The rate we were trying to row at was faster than anything little 14 year old me had ever experienced before! I was sitting behind SIR Steve Redgrave, perhaps the best rower in history racing against another very talented team, it was TERRIFYING!

We round the buoy at the end of the course and start coming back, still at the insane pace! I was struggling to keep up and that's when everything goes wrong. I got my oar stuck under the boat in what rowers refer to as "catching a crab" which acts like a massive break that slows down the entire boat. It can look something like this (except I had two oars rather than just the one in this picture):

Instead of taking the time to let me get my oar out, the team decided to keep on powering through as we were already half way back down the course and had a considerable lead over the other team. However, the drag from my oar under the boat was too much and we ended up losing speed and getting overtaken.

We lost the race...

Afterwards, the other team was celebrating the fact that they had just beaten THE SIR Steve Redgrave, the greatest rower of all time, in a rowing race. Mean while, SIR Steve Redgrave, the biggest person that almost all British rowers look up to, was looking at me like I had just murdered a puppy in front of him. I was too scared to even try talking to him after, I felt TERRIBLE!

So yeah, that's how I upset the greatest person in the sport I loved. I have no idea if he still remembers it, but it is honestly one of my favourite stories to tell as it's fun to look back on. SIR Steve Redgrave would go on to help support our rowing team a lot, even after his son quit the team to play Basketball or Rugby instead. I still have a lot of respect for him! :)

The End!