Sisters compete on rowing team
Senior Laura Boase competes in a rowing regatta.
October 25, 2019
Each week during the summer, sisters Laura Boase and Jane Boase can be found carving the waters of Long Lake and other local waters as members of the Long Lake Rowing Crew.
Senior Laura Boase and freshman Jane Boase are both rowers on the Long Lake Rowing Crew. Laura started rowing her freshman year after hearing about all of the sport’s benefits from her friend. Jane followed her sister’s lead by joining the team this past summer. “My friend told me it’s really fun, a good way to get exercise, and a good way to get scholarship opportunities for colleges,” Laura said.
The Long Lake Rowing Crew has a girls’ team and a boys’ team. There are around thirty girls and fifty boys on their respective teams. “The summer season is separated by gender because there are not enough boats for everyone, but boys and girls practice together during the fall season,” Laura said.
Although rowing may not be as well known as the varsity sports at BSM, it is as physically demanding as other sports. The rowers practice two times a day everyday of the week and compete in regattas almost every weekend of the summer. “You get in really good shape,” Laura said.
The sisters have competed in regattas around Minnesota, and one in Ontario, Canada. There are two different types of regattas; one regatta has heats and the other just has finals. “A good rower will have 2-3 races in a race with just finals, in a race with heats a good rower will have 4-5 races,” Laura said.
Both sisters agree that the environment at regattas is super energetic and great bonding for the team. While they are not racing, the team plays cards, listens to music, and goes to cheer each other on. “It is a really fun environment. Everyone is cheering each other on; it’s very welcoming,” Jane said.
The two sisters have not competed with each other yet; they are usually in different boats for competitions. Although, this doesn’t mean they are always separated at rowing events. “We go to regattas together, and sometimes we practice together,” Jane said.
