Going Backwards To The Top
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday December 15, 1994
The oars that break the water will be many, but none so dedicated as those wielded by Jo Ferguson.
At 15, Ferguson, who has been rowing for 18 months, is beating girls three years her senior in the single skull. With few girls her age to compete against, she is forced to race in an age group well above her own just to find competition.
Rowing does not feature on the school curriculum until Year 10 at Loreto, Kirribilli, which she attends, but that did not deter Ferguson from taking up the sport. According to her trainer, Mathew Cooper, she's the fastest girl in her age group.
"For her age, she's the best. I don't think there is anybody her age who could beat her," said the Mosman rowing club coach, who has rowed for South Africa and the University of London.
In order to be a good rower, a girl needed size, strength and mental application, Cooper said. "Mental application is one of the most important things, and boy, she's got that."
Although it was sometimes lonely in a single skull, blisters and soreness were soon forgotten on the water, Ferguson said. "When you get it right, it's just the most amazing feeling. I just love the rhythm of it."
Many North Shore girls' schools now have rowing on their sports curriculum, including Pymble Ladies College, Wenona, SCECGS Redlands and Queenwood. Women could gain a lot from the sport, Cooper said.
"It is probably the best sport (for fitness) because it exercises the whole body. It improves your cardiovascular fitness and strength, (giving the body)a thorough toning up. All the things that you do in the gymnasium, you do in a rowing boat in a much more pleasant setting."
NSW Rowing Association executive director Terry Maher said women's rowing was "an enormous growth area" with numbers in the sport now 60 per cent men and 40 per cent women.
Although not for the faint-hearted, he said it was encouraging to see the girls were doing it and doing it well.
"(Women) have got a lot more drive and are willing to take up the challenge a lot more readily than some of the boys. The boys tend to let it happen for them whereas the girls are willing to get in there and make it happen."
Ferguson, of Roseville, trains 10 times a week, including spending two hours with her coach before school three mornings a week.
She is looking forward to the State and National championships in the New Year, as well as the junior world championships in 1996. Her ultimate aim is to row at the Olympics.
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald