While morning routine influencers preach waking at seemingly insane hours to perform meticulously scheduled ice water facials and full-out sprints, I propose waking for a different reason: to get in a boat alongside seven other people who have never rowed before and a coxswain who has never steered, and try not to crash tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of carbon fibre. 

This is novice rowing.

What is novice rowing? 

The premise of rowing is generally simple: row the boat as fast and hard as you can for 2 kilometres, with some nuance. 

Novice rowing, specifically, is open to anyone who has never competed in a rowing race prior to that calendar year and aims to develop athletes for the next year’s varsity team. In novice rowing at U of T, you solely sweep — rowing with one oar — in a coxed boat, with seven other rowers, or more simply, an eight. 

The coxswain, or coxie, directs the boat using foot steering attached to a rudder, and calls out commands to motivate or align the crew during the race. The coxie is responsible for the more strategic part of the race, developing a race plan for when to push hard or what aspects of the stroke to focus on at what distances, whereas the rowers are typically told to leave their brains on the dock when the boat launches and just row.

Though the time of day of novice practices varies from year to year — practices are typically in the morning alongside the varsity team’s regular practices. Boats launch from the dock for practice at 5:30 am, but you’re expected to be there by 5:15 am to sweep the dock, bring the oars to the water, and meet with the team and coaches. Early morning practices are routine to catch the calmer morning water and to keep training outside of school hours or jobs. 

The early hours beg the question: what would motivate one to even try out in the first place?

Reasons for joining novice rowing

Rowing tends to be a late-entry sport, so many athletes come from quitting other competitive sports once they reach university, no longer having that athletic outlet. Rowers have all kinds of different athletic backgrounds, from gymnastics, soccer, track, and ice hockey. 

“I had just quit the sport I had done all my life, rhythmic gymnastics, and rowing seemed like a good way to maintain my athletic lifestyle,” wrote Alice Calugar in a message to The Varsity, a member of the 2024–2025 women’s novice team. 

Other members of last year’s women’s team, A.P. and Maddy Glowinski, echo Calugar’s sentiment in messages written to The Varsity. “I ran track in high school and was looking for a sport that was just as, if not more, physically demanding; something that would challenge me,” A.P. wrote. Glowinski wrote that “After a gap year and an 11-year career as a nationally ranked competitive swimmer, I knew I needed something consistent to ground me at such a demanding university.” 

However, you can’t forget, “The eventual possibility of wearing team merchandise around campus,” as a motivator, as written in a message to The Varsity by Sami Ahmed, a member of the 2024–2025 men’s novice team and one of this year’s novice coordinators. I think it’s pretty hard to argue against the hold a varsity backpack has on the student body.

Early morning training: Is it worth it?

Despite all the initial motivations, the worst part of novice rowing was consistently and unsurprisingly cited as the early wake-up. Even so, the pros outweighed the cons for every member of the novice teams, and they found other motivations to push them through, such as the gorgeous morning sights or a commitment to self-improvement and fitness. Additionally, they included the team members as a large motivator and one of the best aspects of rowing.

Daniel Pinto, another member of last year’s novice men’s team, explains in a message to The Varsity, “… as I got to know the people on the team more, and we became closer friends, increasingly my motivation was getting the chance to see some of my best friends every single morning. Of course ancillary to that are the great views.” 

Additionally, Ahmed explains, “getting to see the sunrise and the city skyline day after day was a motivating factor… It was also a sense of responsibility to my teammates… There were only eight [rowers] on the men’s side and that meant if one of us did not show up, we could not go out onto the water.”

From the novice women’s team, A.P. concurs, “The best part is the people—you’re all waking up at ungodly hours together, and those shared early mornings forge a strong bond. They’ll be the first to cheer you on.” Calugar finds both self and team motivations, “my commitment to bettering myself in this sport… is a good motivator… but to a large extent it’s the team and the community it creates… I found that everyone selected for the novice team had bonded pretty quickly as both teammates and friends.” 

Moreover, Charlotte Stein, another novice team member, wrote in a message to The Varsity that she also finds the best part of rowing is “the team, it gave me a new group of like-minded people who continually showed up for one another, even during the roughest of trainings,” with Glowinski agreeing, “I’ve met some of my best friends through this program, and that kind of consistent, reliable connection is rare in university.”

I am in no way a morning person, so this time last year, I never could have imagined waking up at a time when I had gone to bed more than once, but somehow Glowinski is right; the pros always seem to outweigh the cons. The rigidity of my schedule provides structure that I would otherwise be lost without, the physical activity creates a sense of accomplishment and a rush of endorphins, and the community is home to some of the closest relationships I’ve found at U of T. So even though I don’t think I’ll ever manage to be a morning person, I don’t think I could ever forgo waking up at 4:00 am.

Shared goals on the water

Glowinski sums up the novice women’s crew’s year almost perfectly, “This year, our novice women’s crew had one of the most successful seasons in years for UofT because we all shared the same mindset: we were willing to hurt for each other, push through together, and do whatever it took to win. Rowing demands a kind of pain you can’t fully put into words if you want to succeed — but you’ll gladly take it on for the people in your boat. Those people will become some of the strongest, most inspiring humans you’ll ever meet.”

This year’s novice tryouts have just finished, having occurred in the first weeks of September, and though their practices are in the evening and do not require waking up at 4:00 am, I trust the team will find every reason we did to come back next fall for the early morning varsity team practices.

Emily Rosevear was a member of the 2024–2025 Women’s Novice Rowing Team, and is currently a member of the Varsity Women’s Rowing Team. 

Editor’s Note, May 28, 2026: An individual’s name was anonymized out of concern for their safety.