Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a team of 28 rowers who go by the name of Rock n’ Row competed in the annual holiday challenge to help raise money for the charity of their choice.
From May through September, Rock n’ Row participates in open-water rowing on the waters of Marblehead. But in the offseason, the rowers must stay in shape, which is where the holiday challenge comes into play.
The challenge is run by the company Concept2, which was created by brothers who were once Olympic rowers. Concept2 makes sculling oars as well as ergometers–exercise equipment made to mimic the movements of rowing, biking, or skiing. The use of this equipment is what assists the rowers in staying in shape while in their off-season.
Those who participate in the challenge must bike, row, or ski a total of 100,000 meters or 200,000 meters, which must be done on any of the three exercise equipment items. It’s also possible to combine meters from the different machines to reach the total.
Each participant also chooses a charity they wish to donate when completing their meters. Concept2 presented five charity options for this year’s challenge. Among the five options were Team RWB, a veteran charity, The Busyhead Project, a mental health foundation, DREAM, a foundation focusing on providing equal opportunities, Clean Air Task Force, an environmental organization, and Dancer Love Foundation, an organization dedicated to assisting those with disabilities in fitness and education.
The event is global and raises large amounts of money. This year a total of $57 thousand was raised among all five charities. Out of 1,535 teams around the world, Rock n’ Row ranked 64 with over 65% of their team members being over the age of sixty. In their category of on-water clubs with over 21 team members, Rock n’ Row ranked 9 out of 66 different teams.
“I mean there were thousands of people who participated and more than 60 teams, and we were number 9!” Pal Bickford, manager of the charity event, said.
Altogether the team rowed over 3 million meters and virtually traveled the distance from Rio de Janeiro to Centinela del Mar on the Argentinian coast. Out of their team of 28, 23 people made it over 100,000 meters, 2 people went over 300,000, and one person went over 200,000.
Rock n’ Row has been running since 2006, when founders Jack Tatelman and Paul Mazonson made a pact to obtain the distance and skill set to compete in the Blackburn Challenge. That year the challenge was cancelled due to unsafe water conditions. But Tatelman and Mazonson made another pact to row all 21 miles anyway the next week.
Their enthusiasm surrounding rowing ended up recruiting a few other people to the sport, and over time the team gained more traction and interest from people who had never rowed a day in their lives.
The club consists of members in their 20s to members in their 70s, some of whom have collegiate background in rowing while others have no background whatsoever. The benefits of this form of exercise are part of what draws people to join the team. But it’s also the jaw-dropping scenery of Marblehead these rowers experience that ties it all together.
