Chicago Rowing Union — rowing club created by LGBTQ+ community members — is all about increasing diversity, accessibility in the sport
CHICAGO — “Pivot, slide, slow on recovery ... we’re pulling all the way into our rib cage. We don’t want to pull into our hipbones or our stomachs. We want it nice and high.”
More than a dozen people listened to the instructions from Chicago Rowing Union’s (CRU) head coach Mollie Halvorsen while sitting on Concept 2 ERG Rowers during a learn to row class at Dammrich Rowing Center in Skokie, Ill. Sequencing is important to learn, she reiterates.
“When you pivot over or bend at the waist, we do not want our hands to dive down. We want them to be nice and flat. Arms away first, then body over,” she said.
The mantra becomes “arms, body, body, arms … arms up, body over, body back, arms in” while the hum of the ERGs try to turn in unison. Repetitive, yes, but this crash course is supposed to help everyone learn the rudimentary lessons of rowing
