When my brother Thomas Nunn told me he was trying out for the rowing team at UVic, I laughed. Rowing — I didn’t think he even knew the sport existed.

We grew up in North Vancouver and, while rowing was around, it never surfaced on our radar. We had probably caught a bit of it on TV during the Summer Olympics at some point in our lives, but no one in our family or circle or friends rowed. And our high school had never formed a team.

Buckets, sculls, ores and shells

Here in Victoria, the rowing tradition that runs strong through southern Vancouver Island is evident.

When settlers from England first arrived on the Island in the 1860s, they took up rowing since it was a popular pastime back home in Britain.

Since then, the sport has grown enormously in Victoria and now the Canadian National Rowing Team trains on Elk Lake right beside Patricia Bay Highway 17.

Opportunities to row abound in the area; there are several local rowing clubs and, if you’re a student, it’s worth trying out for the renowned UVic rowing program. Tall, lanky guys like Thomas (who is a towering 6’5” and weighs about 200 pounds) are ideal candidates for the rowing team (as are tall, lanky girls), which is the main reason he was spotted and asked to try out. However, the Vikes men’s rowing coach, Howard Campbell, still encourages anyone who is interested in giving rowing a shot to come to one of the orientation days held in the spring and fall.

Still, rowing is definitely not a sport for everyone.

Like my brother, I’m long-limbed, but I don’t have the unwavering dedication, supreme fitness or ability to withstand gruelling pain that the sport requires. Approximately 20 out of 70 interested rowers actually make it onto the novice team, for both the men and women’s groups. The novice team at UVic is a competitive team used for talent identification.

“Rowing is a late-entry sport,” says Campbell. “If you’re a good athlete, you can get in and do well.”

Thomas is the type of guy who routinely sleeps through his alarm or just won’t set one. He wakes up in a thick fog, which usually takes about an hour or so to disperse. This is the main reason why I laughed at him when he announced he was going to try out rowing; I had a hard time believing he’d pay any attention to his alarm for those early morning practices. But once he put his mind to giving rowing a proper try, he was up at the crack of dawn nearly every day.

For the first few months, he would ride his bike to the gym and occasionally all the way out from Oak Bay to Elk Lake for on-the-water practices. His dedication surprised my whole family. He wasn’t doing it to prove anything to us; he’d simply fallen in love with the sport — early mornings, spandex and all.

“You have to be eager, committed and love to be the best that you can be,” Thomas says about making it on the team.

Fellow Vikes rower Brent Dallimore confirmed this passion for the sport.

“You will find out pretty quickly if rowing is for you or not. It’s not for everyone, but those who like it like it a lot and get hooked pretty quick,” he says.

Dallimore began rowing in Grade 11 on his high school rowing team at Stelly’s in Central Saanich. He credits the competitiveness of the sport to drawing him in at first. Now he’s team captain, rows on the prestigious eight boat and hopes to one day qualify for the national team.

From old school to new school

Coach Campbell’s office is a collage of medals, trophies, framed and signed photos and inspirational quotes. He rowed for UVic from 1981 to 1985 in the varsity program and completed a degree in computer science and economics.

Campbell didn’t really have a chance to properly pursue a career in either field after graduation; he began coaching the novice rowing team at UVic before scoring a professional coaching job in Saskatchewan.

Campbell returned to UVic once again as a rowing coach in 1990 and hasn’t left since. Most recently, he was named Coach of the Year for 2009.

Olympic gold and silver medalist Lorne Loomer started the rowing program at UVic and was the school’s first coach. The program he started remains incredibly successful and many UVic rowing alumni, such as Olympic gold and silver medallist Derek Porter, have gone on to compete in the Olympics as well as win medals in world championships.

Row, row, row your erg

Both the men’s and women’s rowing teams at UVic train often and rigorously. During the regular school year, athletes have four morning practices at the gym where they work out on the ergometers, or ergs, as they’re more commonly called.

Ergometers are terrestrial rowing exercise machines often seen in the corners of workout gyms, hidden behind the elliptical.

Then rowers try to cram all their classes into the middle of the day, before the on-the-water practices that are scheduled five afternoons each week.

The on-the-water sessions usually begin with a half-hour warm-up, followed by 45 to 90 minutes of hard rowing.

The top varsity guys train 11 times for a total of about 22 hours per week. They also have to take a minimum of four courses at school each term to qualify for varsity.

These athletes have to be in (and stay in) peak physical condition. Last Christmas, while the rest of the family was still lazing about in pyjamas and stuffing our faces with baking, Thomas announced he was going for a run.

“But it’s Christmas Day,” I protested, with a cookie halfway to my mouth.

“Gotta stay in shape!” he shouted as he sprinted off down the driveway, returning 40 minutes later in a slight sweat.

The rowing programs at UVic have been set up to work around school but, like most other student athletes, the rowers find that maintaining a balance between schoolwork and their sport is not an easy task.

“It always seems that there is not enough time in a day to complete all the schoolwork I have to do, so I always seem to be going into finals having to do a bit more studying than the average student to catch up,” says Dallimore.

Thomas agrees that, especially during crunch time, it’s hard to fit both in and perform at your best in either area.

His social life has quieted down as well.

“You don’t go out as often. For example, Friday nights have become a study night instead of going out partying,” he says.

Thomas works hard throughout the summer to fund his schooling and living expenses for the year — there’s no spare time to hold down a job while he’s rowing.

Rowing through the seasons

Rowers at UVic participate in two racing seasons. The major season begins in the fall and, in November, includes the coveted Canadian University Rowing Championships.

Last year’s championships were held in Montreal and saw a strong UVic men’s contingent take home the gold in these championships for the first time since 2001, and the fifth time in school history. Next year, UVic will play host to the Championships on Elk Lake and they’re sure to bring out their best.

The winter rowing season includes the Monster Erg Regatta held at the McKinnon Gym. It is an indoor regatta (a rowing and boating culture competition/tournament). This year was the 25th anniversary of the event and saw hundreds of UVic athletes come out to participate on the erg machines.

The competition sees regular athletes rowing beside the Vikes rowers to test themselves in a two-kilometer race. For many, the competition is a harsh eye-opener to the physical extremes of rowing. Throwing up, fainting and collapsing are common reactions. And afterwards the words “ergs don’t float,” can be heard from athletes mumbling under their breath as they leave the gymnasium.

The spring season finishes with the Brown Cup, an annual meet at the end of March between UVic and UBC.

The race is modeled after the historic race between rivals Oxford and Cambridge, where two eight-person boats raced against each other over the Thames River. Here, the challengers are UBC’s and UVic’s teams.

The race began in 1993 and every year the location switches back and forth between Victoria and Vancouver. Last year, the Vikes recaptured the cup from their long-time rivals with a full 13-second lead. This year’s race, which will be held in Victoria, promises to be an exciting event.

Working together

One of the aspects emphasized in rowing is teamwork.

There are singles races, but the majority of the races require at least two team members, and everyone trains together. Dallimore emphasizes that teamwork is one of the main reasons he’s stuck with the sport for so long.

“Once you train really hard with a team, you become invested with not only how you do, but how all the people you train with do as well,” he says. “It just becomes hard to leave the team knowing that your buddies are working hard without you.”

Thomas, too, enjoys the team aspect and atmosphere of the sport.

“Having those guys out everyday is good motivation. You all try to help each other out to your best ability,” he says.

Row and grow

Over the past two years, my “little” brother has really grown through rowing.

Physically, he’s bulked up. His strong frame reflects the hours he’s spent on the ergs and out on the water, rowing until rough, angry blisters dot his palms. He’s matured from those sleep-through-the-alarm days and has set goals for rowing, school and life.

For now, even though Thomas describes himself as being on the lower part of the varsity totem, he’s decided to stick with the sport for another season.

“I’m going to keep hammering it out every day and get some races in,” he says with determination.

This time, there is no laughter bubbling up in my chest. Just pride.