AUC’s Rowing Team Adapt to Training Under COVID
By: Doha Wang
@DohaWang
Photo Courtesy of AUC’s rowing team
It’s been seven months since Dana Abu Ghazaleh last practiced with her rowing team.
Abu Ghazaleh, team captain of the women’s rowing team, used to practice six days a week with her rowing team – three days were spent in water and three on land.
On land practice consisted of indoor rowing, whereas water practice was conducted on the Nile.
But then the world went into lockdown as the COVID-19 coronavirus quickly spread.
It’s been a struggle since then to get into the training model again.
“Now, we are starting with three to four times a week of land training till we are able to resume our water practices,” said Abu Ghazaleh.
The team had mixed feelings about the decision to suspend the in-water practice; Some members felt like they were losing one of the major aspects of the game, while others said they could now divert their focus to a different kind of training.
“Frankly speaking, I’m not a fan of the decision because water practice was one of the main reasons many athletes loved the sport so much. But we still have a whole other side of the sport [on land training] that we can concentrate on now more than before,” Omar El-Salawi, team captain of the men’s rowing team, said.
El-Salawi explained that his biggest challenge was not being able to train his team members because all gyms and clubs in Egypt were closed.
“In spite of that, as a team we were able to overcome it together by cheering on each other to keep training in our homes. We also used to create challenges between one another which kept the competitive environment and also helped us stay in touch throughout these months,” said El-Salawi.
Some of the rowing team members graduated in the Spring’20 semester, and so the current team is still waiting on an approval from the university to hold tryouts for new members.
“Even though circumstances were horrible over the past few months, all our athletes are still willing to stay part of the team and give it their all,” said El-Salawi.
Dean of Students George Marquis told The Caravan that student health and safety remain AUC’s top priorities.
“The use of the athletics facilities will expand as the whole university is allowed to expand its campus presence. So, I would recommend that students keep their eyes and ears open with updates to the campus access policy,” said Marquis.
He also said that since the beginning of the Fall’20 semester, certain categories of students such as dorm students and those living in off campus Buildings One and Two have been allowed access to the sports facilities.
These students are only allowed to use the swimming pool and the gyms. Only 20 students at a time are allowed to be together in one place in the facilities.
“We have a limit on the number of students who can use those rooms, and they must sign up through AUC Connect for times and that allows us to make sure that the rooms are never over occupancy,” explained Marquis.
Members of athletic teams who need to maintain a level of fitness have also been given access to the facilities.
Marquis acknowledges that the rowing team had always trained for their competitions on the Nile, however, this practice had to be stopped due to the fact that the university could not provide safety supervision out on the water.
He explained that the university spoke with the Egyptian University Sports Federation, which has national level competitions at AUC, and they said that they sponsored indoor rowing.
“Therefore we can allow the students to continue to compete at both of those levels, and remain eligible for the athletic scholarship that we offer to students who are high achievers in the national tournaments,” said Marquis.
Equipment used by the team for indoor practice is moved outdoors and spread out amongst them to ensure individual usage and help enforce health and safety measures.
