The University of the Western Cape Rowing Club couldn’t be more proud of Captain Curtley, who recently reached the adventure of a lifetime overseas thanks to many believers in breaking barriers:
Global (04 August 2024) — Rowing is a lot more than a sport of resilience. For many South Africans, it’s a sport that tests boundaries, challenges them and unites people from all walks of life through a love of both. One youngster who epitomises the spirit of rowing is captain Curtley van Wyk, who recently made the University of the Western Cape Rowing Club enormously proud after he was given the opportunity to row his way through the adventure of a lifetime overseas.
When the inspirational Arshay Cooper presented an opportunity for rowers to attend a training camp in Vermont, excitement splashed the air.
Arshay is the author of A Most Beautiful Thing (a true telling of the young men from Chicago who made history as the first all-black rowing team in their nation) and an activist working towards more equal opportunities in the sport that’s deeply barricaded by privilege.
Like Arshay’s mission, the UWC Rowing Club (whose growth has been supported by Rowing South Africa and Western Cape Rowing) is determined to make rowing accessible to all. Considering that many of the rowers are the first in their families to swim, the UWC Rowing Club embodies an infectious energy that everything is possible, and even if funds are limited (rowers’ parents mostly cannot afford to support their children in the sport), morale is high.
Beyond rowing itself, a community and space for the youth to discover passions that many thought weren’t even an option has been created as well as a family in which they can push past their limits far beyond the water.
Coach Mike of the UWC Rowing Club ended up putting the hardworking Curtley (who only began rowing last year!) forward for the rowing opportunity inspired by his spirit and potential. Soon, Curtley headed off to the Craftsbury Outdoor Centre in Vermont, where he got to learn from senior rowers that even South Africa’s most seasoned haven’t had the chance to meet!
Especially in the Western Cape, where rowing is not as strong or supported a sport as it is in other provinces, the UWC Rowing Club is charging forward, boats blazing, for a more equal future for our youngsters. And that, indeed, is a most beautiful thing.
by 