by Caleb McKinsey
Reprinted from the “Ohio Connection,” Fall 2024.
My rowing journey started in college at a welcome fair for freshmen. As the only blind member, I was given the same instruction from coaches and varsity rowers as any other novice. Rowing with the Cleveland State Vikings was an incredible opportunity for me. My blindness was never a hindrance. Other members and coaches, however, made sure to be more descriptive when explaining how to properly do a rowing stroke, the correct way to help carry the boat to and from the water, and how to familiarize myself with the boat. The team was welcoming, and I felt like an integral part of something much bigger. I learned that once on the water, all have to work together. Timing and technique from each person must be one and the same. Rowing is group-oriented and never individualistic, much like every team sport.
I raced with Cleveland in the city’s annual 5,000-meter regatta on the Cuyahoga River. I also raced in Pittsburgh and Columbus. The Cleveland State Vikings gave me a firm foundation in the sport and started my love for rowing. I will always be grateful to them because my background helped me immensely when I returned to rowing years later with a local adult club.
The Cleveland Sight Center (CSC) worked with Western Reserve Rowing Association (WRRA) to expose people who are blind to rowing. I joined their team in 2016 and got to row with a team of blind and visually impaired people. Given my experience and background, I was able to help those brand new to the sport. We rowed in smaller sprint races. I became good friends with my teammates, and our competitive enthusiasm took us to Pittsburgh and Boston. Racing in Boston twice at the infamous Head of the Charles regatta was a crowning achievement for us. This regatta is an international race for clubs, high schools, colleges and universities, and even former Olympic rowers come to compete. The support and camaraderie were incredible, from volunteers who rowed with us to our coaches who helped organize and teach us.
When the pandemic shut everything down, the 2020 rowing season was affected. We did not row that year and by 2021 there was a lot of restructuring and, unfortunately, fewer coaches in the club. The CSC rowing team folded, but I was invited to row with another team of all sighted rowers. Rowing has given me enjoyment and discipline in a unique sport I never was aware of until college. A second piece to come will go into depth about rowing and adaptations made to help me learn and succeed in this incredible sport.