At 5:30 in the morning, the air is surprisingly chilly, given the unbearable swelter of the summer day that is about to break. The crescent moon cuts sharply against the inky black sky and the stars wink like tiny jewels. It is the quiet hour —- the streets are empty and rush hour is just a bad dream — most everyone in town is still sleeping.
But it is a different story at the Finn. M. W. Caspersen Olympic Training Site at West Windsor’s Mercer Lake which is already a hive of activity in the pre-dawn darkness. A group of stalwart athletes, known as the Mercer Masters, are gathered at the boathouse, pumped, and ready to start their day with a workout on the water. They hail from West Windsor and Plainsboro as well as other surrounding communities. Among them are ex-competitive athletes, mothers, a research scientist, an English teacher, and a retired professor. Most of them are preparing for what is likely to be the biggest and most prestigious athletic event in which they will ever compete.
From Thursday through Sunday, September 7 through 10, Princeton National Rowing Association and Mercer Lake, home of the U.S. National Team, will host the 2006 FISA World Masters Rowing Regatta. So far nearly 4,”000 rowers representing up to 45 countries, have registered to compete in the largest and most competitive masters rowing regatta in the world. The 33rd annual regatta is the World Championships for masters, defined as athletes over the age of 27, and will feature competitors well into their 80s and 90s.
The Masters Rowing Program at Mercer Lake, an arm of the Princeton National Rowing Association, is sending three boats to the competition: a Women’s Eight, a Mixed Eight, and a Four. Leading them is Pete Szymanski, head coach of the program, which has grown to just over 20 members since its inception three years ago. He and the PNRA’s Executive Director Kay Worthington are trying to grow the program and to recruit new members. “It’s wonderful to see people who come out who still have the drive to compete, train, and see the benefits, both physical and mental, especially at a time in their lives when many people are not focused on doing that type of intense athletic training,” he says.
Rowing is regarded as one of the premiere forms of exercise, with benefits ranging from the buildup of lean muscle to cardiovascular strength. Plus, there’s the teamwork and fun of it all. “Many former athletes still want to compete, still want to be part of a team,” says Szymanski. “There are also people who are looking for a weight loss program or health benefits and they’re already tried the gym or working out on their own and are looking for an alternative exercise program. Rowing is appealing because it is community and team structured. It’s non-impact. It draws former bicyclists and runners because it’s easier on the knees. It appeals to tennis players because they won’t re-aggravate that elbow. We also draw people who want to do something new or make new friends. At the gym there’s very little opportunity to do that. With rowing, every day, you’re in a boat with eight people.”
West Windsor resident Cassandra Cohen started with the Mercer Masters program three years ago and has become one of the regulars of the early-rising pre-dawn club. She is 49 years old and works in editorial publishing. She had coached her two children in soccer for years as they played in various recreational and travel leagues. As they grew up and moved on to other activities and interests, she found herself deciding it was mom’s turn — she wanted to find a sport where she herself could grow.
Another West Windsor resident, Judy Wardwell-Swanson, is a research scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb, who started rowing three years ago to get exercise and widen her social horizons.
“Hands-on! Take it off an inch and up!” barks Szymanski, as he orders his team to lift their boat from the rack. Szymanski is a not so very large man who happens to have a very large voice, which came in most handy at Boston University where he was a coxswain for the men’s crew team. “Swing the stern out! Walk it straight!”
Many times the training regimen includes working on the ergometer, the rowing machine designed to build strength. This day, the team is heading for the water.
“Since we share the lake with the U.S. National team, they’re often out on the water the same time we are,” says Szymanski. “I can tell my rowers to turn around, see what the team looks like and what they’re doing. It’s inspiring for them to see athletes who want to compete on the highest level and win, which in itself is a beautiful thing.”
As the rowers launch their craft on the water and head down the course, Szymanski rides alongside, shouting out instructions and encouragement from the launch. “How are we feeling? Good? Good!” The sun starts to peek slowly over the horizon. Suddenly, it bathes the lake and rowers in a soft, orange glow. Mercer Lake, the jewel of Mercer County Park, now truly sparkles like one. The birds are playing tag on the water. A great blue heron flaps across the rising mist. The morning quiet is broken only by the steady dip of the oars and Szymanski’s voice.
“Feel how the blade wants to come out of the water? Work on pulling with your back, not your arms, use your legs! Row!”
“Two strokes and pause! Row!”
“Very nice! Row!”
“Bring your knees to your chest, don’t lean down in the boat! Row!”
One of Szymanski’s teammates at BU was Sean McCourt, who had been recruited to row there the year earlier. Szymanski graduated from BU in 2000 with a B.S. in computer systems engineering. He came back to New Jersey to work for AT&T in Dayton, and continued training and racing at Carnegie Lake.
Last September, his former BU teammate, McCourt, who had been appointed director of operations for the PNRA as well as head coach of the Mercer Junior Rowing Club, asked him to take over its masters program, which at that point only had eight to ten rowers. Szymanski was charged with cultivating local masters rowers and building a strong training and racing program. Understanding that most masters level rowers have many personal and professional commitments, he only asks that they commit to as many days as they can, and work as hard they can when they’re there. “If two days is all they can give, then the onus is on me to give them the workout to grow and benefit from the sport as much as they can.”
Szymanski, who grew up in South River and still lives there, recognizes that coaching masters level athletes comes with its own unique set of challenges and concerns. “We tailor our workouts to make sure they meet their lifestyle and level of fitness. A college kid can workout morning and night, then go take a nap and recover. Compare that to a parent who has to go to work, chauffeur the kids, make dinner, do housework, so many other things. You have to recognize that these two hours in the morning are not going to be the only two hours of pure physical activity that these people are doing.”
This morning, as the hour closes in on 7 and the rest of the world is waking up, drinking coffee, or heading for trains, the rowers come in from the water, hoist their craft onto their shoulders, and as their coach exhorts, “bring her on in” for the day. Then, they too, head out into the world to pick up their lives in progress, tired, yet invigorated, competitors, who have jumpstarted their day by doing their best.
For information on the masters rowing program call head coach Pete Szymanski at 609-799-7100 or E-mail him at pete@rowpnra.org
