Rowing Profile: Jo Smith
Name: Jo Smith
Age: 23
Height: 1.78m
College: St Edmund Hall
Subject studied: MESci Earth Sciences, 2004-08
Boat race (boat, year and seat): Osiris 2006 (5), Blue Boat 2008 (B)
When and where did you start rowing?
I had been dragged along to a couple of sessions at my local boat club by a rowing-crazy friend before coming to Oxford, but didn't start rowing properly till Torpids of my first year.
Why and how did you decide to row with OUWBC?
Originally I decided I would never row at university level - but more and more people told me I should give it a go, so I went along to the summer development squad in my first year. Although I wouldn't say I had an absolutely amazing time, I quickly saw how much there was to aspire to and was hooked by the idea of challenging myself to get there.
What did you enjoy most about it?
The satisfaction of doing something wholeheartedly with like-minded people, achieving things I never thought possible, turning up to races after months of hard training and discovering that winning is easy. And now, being able to look back on those achievements and know I can do anything.
What aspects did you find the hardest/most challenging?
Pushing through the times when you feel like you're not getting anywhere, no matter how hard you train. And coming back to trialling after a long summer completely off (I made the mistake of deciding to quit and then changed my mind) was demoralising - getting back to my previous fitness level involved a few of months of pain!
In a sentence name a highlight of your time with OUWBC:
The dawning realisation in the week before the Women's Eights Head that we could win outright, and then actually doing it.
How did you cope with managing training with work and any other commitments?
By being organised and planning around the training schedule - in my experience there's much less faff than college rowing and you can usually rely on being able to turn up, do the session and get away on time. You may have less time to procrastinate than your friends, but you'll be far more efficient with what you do have!
Do you have any advice/handy tips for future OUWBC rowers?
Above all, look after yourself: skipping sleep and proper meals because you think you haven't got time to fit everything in is false economy. And don't think that trialling means you can't have any fun - total rubbish!
