During my time at University In Cornwall, I wanted to be involved in a local sport and be part of the Cornish way of living, fully immersing myself in the culture. I decided to take part in gig rowing which is rowing out in the sea on a 6-man boat. The seats do not move and the sea makes it very challenging, especially when its choppy! After months of training I was lucky enough to be invited to the Isles of Scilly world gig rowing championships, where teams from around the south west and even further afield compete against each other in set categories.

We set off from Penzance catching a ferry over to St. Mary’s where the Championships are held. The event is over a long weekend from the 1st till the 3rd of May. We were lucky enough to have good weather all weekend, which helped massively. otherwise I probably would have had a different experience.

The races are extremely hard! Depending on how well you and the team perform it is then categorised up until your last race where you can win awards if you perform well enough in your category. Not sure what went on in out very last race, but the morale was high and we were determined to win as we hadn’t been doing so well in previous races and was moved down categories! The gun went and we were off, moving past all the other boats, our cox was screaming at us “come on!!”as we were giving it our all! My lungs, legs, arms, back, everything was screaming at me to stop. It was only a short race, but I wasn’t sure on how much I could hold this for. My body was telling me to stop but hearing the roaring crowds to the left of us, on the dock, made me carry on! I am so glad I did!

As we crossed the line it was a bizarre feeling. knowing we had won our categorised race and earned a position on the podium. I remember just looking at my friend and laughing at each other, in shock more than anything else whilst others cried in pure joy and disbelief. It was a moment I will take with me for the rest of my life.

After the race ended, boats lined up side by side and began to cheer and sing Cornish songs, whilst sharing champagne in celebration of the end of the weekend. After the race we headed to the pubs for some well-deserved drinks. The pubs were so full you could barely move! Absolute madness!

If you ever get a chance to attend a weekend watching the races I would defiantly go. It will be something you’ve never experienced before.