It's 5 pm and scores of schoolchildren can be seen rowing their boats furiously at the Lake Club in South Kolkata. Practice is on in full swing for the All India Invitation Schools' Regatta during which these children will be competing with young oarsmen and women from across the country. To be held between June 9 and 16, the event seeks to popularise rowing among schoolchildren.
The Regatta happens to be the only championship at school-level that has received national recognition from the Rowing Federation of India. Around 350 students from 60 schools will participate in the event. Entries from Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar and Maharashtra are already in.
For some of these students, rowing is more than just a hobby. They follow it with a passion that belies their age. For instance, Siddhart Lat, a Class XI student of Kolkata's St James School, has been rowing for the past two years and practises for two to three hours a day, both in the morning and the evening. He, along with five of his classmates, will be participating in the Regatta. "Our seniors in school have been winning accolades for rowing. That inspired us to take up the sport," he says. The event is open for students from Classes VIII to XII.
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Lake Club boasts state-of-the-art boats such as the coxed four boats that are designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars. There is also the sculling boat for the single rower. Shreya Bramhachari, a student of Patha Bhavan school, has garnered enough experience to graduate from the coxed four boats to the sculling ones. "The rowing technique focuses on the hand-body synchronisation to move forward. The feet, meanwhile, are rested on the footrest which is pushed to navigate the boat backwards," informs Bramhachari who has been rowing for the past four years. "It is believed that rowing is a hands sport. In reality, the entire technique revolves around feet movement."
At a time when children are suffering from obesity and stress-related issues, rowing offers great cardiovascular workout. "Besides being a great fitness option, the sport also instills qualities of discipline, coordination and teamwork," says Deloitte COO Joydeep Dutta Gupta, who is also a seasoned rower. Gupta also happens to be the secretary and chairman of the coaching and selection committee of the West Bengal Rowing Association. He believes that students who excel in rowing also gain a fair chance of admission to universities in India and abroad. "Being an Olympic sport, rowing is recognised internationally in all the premier universities. This makes the students eligible for scholarships as well."
West Bengal has performed quite well at the junior and sub-junior level at the national championships. However, it hasn't been able to match the national standards at the senior level. The state teams face tough competition from teams from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. Also, the Lake Club only has a 1,000-metre stretch for rowing as compared to the 2,000- to 2,200-metre long stretch as is the Olympic standard. The other two clubs - The Bengal Rowing Club and The Calcutta Rowing Club - have similar stretches at the Rabindra Sarobar in South Kolkata.
Lake Club charges a token fee of Rs 1 per student per month, while providing facilities like gym, fibre-glass boats, carbon shaft oars et cetera. "With corporate sponsorship and support of the members, the club has been able to promote the sport and has ensured participation from students of all backgrounds," says Dutta Gupta.
The club is now trying to expand the rowing stretch. "We have zeroed in on a water body near Kalyani, 50 km from Kolkata," informs Dutta Gupta. The club has also approached Sports Authority of India for support and better training infrastructure to promote rowing in the state.
