Row, row, row your boat...

On the same fashion of the famous rowing competition between Cambridge University and Oxford University, WHU and Mannheim Business School (MBS) are starting to consolidate a similar tradition.

For the periodic rowing competition in summer each year, we gathered already three teams in the beginning of the program in April. We formed one women’s, one mixed and one men’s team. Being very excited about the sport, but never having tried it, I also enrolled for the rowing event. We started practicing early on in May for ourselves in the gym, however, in June we moved to practicing at a rowing club close to Vallendar in Koblenz. It is quite a difference to practice in the gym to being on the water with an entire team in your boat that might interfere with your individual rowing rhythm. We all had the big goal of winning against Mannheim on July 14^th in our mind when we had to get up at 5 am several times in order to train before classes. After some first issues regarding getting in sync with your team, we quickly could focus on improving speed and technique. 

Looking back, I have to admit that it was not easy managing the training and the studying at once, but it was very much worth it! On July 14^th we won 2:1 against the MBS MBA and brought the trophy home. The competition took place in Mannheim on the Neckar River and we were warmly welcomed by the MBS MBA. After the race they provided a great BBQ and get-together during which we could network and celebrate. Altogether it was an amazing experience which I would not wanted to have missed!