Veteran crews test their skills as novices try their hand at dragon-boat rowing

Sunday, October 05, 2003

By Ervin Dyer, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Rowers ruled the rivers yesterday.

	Ben Ledewitz, director of paddling programs for Three Rivers Rowing Association, stood on Penn Avenue at its intersection with Stanwix and taught the basics of using a paddle to about a dozen young people. The demonstration was part of the Head of the Ohio Regatta. (Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette) Related articles Eights go crazy, earn CMU two titles Head of the Ohio Regatta results

A parade of thousands showed up on the banks of the Allegheny and Ohio to race in the Head of the Ohio, a competition that draws clubs, colleges and others from as far as Canada.

Experienced, they looked the part: trim, athletic physiques sporting skin-tight wetsuits, swim gear and sandals.

Two miles away, a somewhat different type of rowers prepared to tackle the currents.

Novices, they looked the part: oversized jeans, baseball caps, and Doc Maartens.

Barrel-chested Anthony Smith, 20, just out of class at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, still had on his baggy black-and-white chef's pants. A gold, lion-shaped medallion swung from his oak tree of a neck.

Kimberly Cieslik, in jeans and sweat shirt, had not touched an oar in seven years.

A Girl Scout from Ontario, Calif., and now a sophomore at Washington & Jefferson College, she's been busy with swimming and water polo.

They were among a motley collection of 100 college students and older adults who turned up on Penn Avenue, Downtown.

There they signed up to take a spin in a dragon boat, courtesy of the Three Rivers Rowing Association.

Dragon-boat racing is a pastime that is gaining popularity worldwide.

The sleek, colorful crafts date to China's 4th century B.C. They commemorate the death of patriot and poet Qu Yuan, who threw himself into a river rather than face a changing political landscape.

In an unsuccessful attempt to save him, fishermen raced out, beating drums and splashing their oars to protect his body from fish and water dragons.

From then on, dragon-boat races were held to honor the poet's courage.

Rowers needed courage yesterday, but only to face their own inexperience and overcast skies.

"I've never done this before," said Andy Rinefierd, a sophomore at Washington & Jefferson. "I'm a little nervous, but it is something new to experience and it's a different side of Pittsburgh."

The activity was one of many that was part of CollegeCity Weekend, a slate of programs to introduce college students to the entertainment and sporting choices available in town. Though CollegeCity Weekend has been held in Boston, Denver and other places, this is the first year it has pitched its tents in Pittsburgh.

To get the rowers ready, Ben Ledewitz from the Three Rivers Rowing Association offered a six-minute rundown on how to use an oar properly and safely.

Ledewitz, 21, talked about outrigger strokes and how a drummer sits in front of the rowers, beating the instrument to keep the rowers in sync. "The drum is the heartbeat of the dragon," he said.

Lesson over, Ledewitz loaded his charges on a bus. Next stop, the Ohio River.

There they boarded a dragon boat and set sail.

Crew members, in orange life vests, sliced their oars through the water to the drumbeat, turning a 20-minute lap on choppy waters.

Back at the dock: Giggles and laughter.

"Cool," said Smith, who last rowed a canoe four years ago as a camp counselor in upstate New York.

Wet but smiling, he said, "It was a lot easier than I expected. I really enjoyed it, but I did get splashed."

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