Hello RBC,
I'm training in Hamburg, Germany out of the Hansa boat club. It's been fun learning from other coaches and athletes about different rowing styles and their philosophies on how to move a boat. I'm at the boathouse during the week from 7:00 am to about 2:00 pm and then travel back home to work from 3:00pm to 11:00pm. My weeks are busy and I am working incredibly hard. My wife and I started our trip leaving for Hamburg in late June. As we arrived, we had a short turnaround and had to prepare to leave for Lucerne a week later to race at World Cup 3. My wife, God bless her, who had never touched an oar in her life, was, on paper, my manager to help me with making sure everything was set for racing at the regatta. She did a wonderful job and we both learned a tremendous amount from this experience. My coach and I saw the World Cup as a reference point, a way to collect data on what it is we need to work on for the remainder of the summer leading to the World Championships. We went, we learned, and we got to work.
We have rowed many meters deconstructing and rebuilding the stroke. Countless hours in the rain, in the wind, in the cold, in the heat you name it. The goal is simple, how fast can I get from point A to point B. I'm excited to race in Serbia and see the comparison from this World Championship to my first one in Racice, Czech Republic. This is also one step closer to getting me prepared for the Asian Qualification Regatta next year in South Korea, chasing my dream to qualify for the Olympics and become Palestine's first Olympic Rower.
Regardless of where I am or where I go, I know Riverside is my home. I do miss my community in Cambridge. It gives me great pride to wear my stripes when I row to remind myself where I come from and who I represent. Riverside has always been the blue-collar club that's rough around the edges but has that grit that you can rely on in the last 500. I see myself this way and I feel that's why I have always been able to relate to Riverside. I am in the position I am in today because of what RBC has been able to give to me and being inspired by the athletes that have come before me and the ones currently there. I've seen Mens Sweeps erg in the blistering hot erg room doing all-out hour of powers, to women sweeps rowing into the late evening to get their strokes in, Lynn Osborn rowing in her double in freezing temps, HPG athletes sacrificing more than most will know to try and accomplish a dream. These are a few of the many inspirations that I see daily at RBC. I am where I am because of you.
Wish me luck, Go Stripes, and look out for the goose poop on the dock.
Amel Younis
