AMATEUR rowers had “oarsome” fun over the weekend as they rallied together to raise funds for South Australia’s bushfire-affected communities.
A group of 17 Limestone Coast residents participated in the Row Aid rowing marathon on Saturday morning at Blue Lake CrossFit, linking with two Mount Barker gyms to raise over $10,000 for South Australian bushfire relief efforts.
Teams of up to five people were invited to take part in the 42.2km challenge, with entry fees donated to the fund.
Mount Gambier’s fastest team – Team RowPros – completed the distance in two hours and 54 minutes.
Blue Lake CrossFit co-owner Adam Maywald said the event brought the fitness community together for a great cause.
“We have some good friends at Hilltop CrossFit who invited us to participate and we just thought, why not?” Mr Maywald said.
“It was a challenging event, but it was great fun too.
“It is great to see everybody jumped on board to show their support.”
Mr Maywald said gym members were joined by new faces outside of the CrossFit community for the event.
“Getting five teams on a Saturday morning to commit to rowing a marathon, really just shows people want to help,” he said.
While some strategies differed, the majority split their efforts into 1km intervals.
Mr Maywald said the key to success was zoning out.
“It was also about the small goals you set yourself while rowing,” he said.
“We always cheer the last person home … it is about the achievement of doing what you are doing, more so then how fast and whether you win.”
