The traditional church rowing race between the University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences was held this fall on September 9th, 2022. The 15-member team from the University of Lapland was the first to cross the finish line this time, several boats apart. After the rowers returned to the beach, the winning team was awarded on the terrace of Valdemari restaurantwith the Lapin Kansa rotating prize by Santa Claus himself. You can admire the trophy during this winter in the meeting room of the university’s administration on the 3rd floor of the E-wing. The earliest winner’s plaque on the trophy dates back to 2002.
Both students and post-graduate students as well as staff members can participate in the rowing race. Traditional rules require an even team: an equal number of students and staff, both men and women. The winning team included Alisa Nolte, who is studying audiovisual media culture in her sixth year, and who’s currently writing her master’s degree and is making a documentary film. This was not Nolte’s first rowing race and not even her first victory.
“I heard about rowing in my first year of studies, when one of our tutors asked students to join the university’s rowing team to compete against Lapland University of Applied Sciences. I had just moved to Rovaniemi and thought it would be nice to try something new and meet new people. Now I have participated in total four races – however, the first one was definitely the most exciting.
Back then, I couldn’t know what the race situation would be like or what the atmosphere turn out to be at the race venue, on the beach and in the boats. The tension didn’t seem to subside once during the whole race. Every year has been exciting, but now the tension waned pretty soon after the first ten quick [rowing strokes], even though my oar seemed to fall off at the start. For the rest of the race I was able to attain a calm and focused attitude,” says Nolte.
In addition to the church rowing competition, regular church boat rowing training sessions are organised a couple of times a week for anyone interested. The sessions are typically held in the evenings, the training season beginning from early Summer, when the flood has receded, until late Autumn, as long as the weather allows. One doesn’t have to have previous rowing experience or be a student or an employee in Lapland’s higher education institution to participate in the practices. The practices are organised by the Church Boat Rowers of Rovaniemi (Rovaniemen kirkkovenesoutajat) and the practices are arranged through a WhatsApp-group. If you are interested in trying church boat rowing, you can contact Sakari Törmänen (tel. 040 0695655), who runs the training sessions. The rowing technique is taught on site. For what to wear to the practice, tight outdoor training clothes are recommended so that no fabric gets stuck between the moving seat plates, as well as gloves. The strength needed for rowing is derived approximately sixty percent from the leg muscles.
Anolte says that she participates in the practices whenever she can. “I like rowing because it is so very much a team sport. There’s always a great atmosphere on the boat: it’s a great feeling when the whole team is so in tune with each other and rowing together. The team has a great team spirit. This is also a very comprehensive sport and I like it when you get the feeling that you have given your all. The rivers of Rovaniemi are also really beautiful – it’s nice to admire the scenery in the middle of the river whenever there’s a break. It’s definitely worth coming to try out and to see Rovaniemi from a slightly different perspective!” Anolte encourages.
Up until now, church boat rowing and the races have mostly been a foreign sport and an event to many university students. Information about them has mainly been passed down from rower to rower. “It’s a shame that so few people at the university hear about this sport and the competitions held every year. This is a great sport – it would be great to see more people participating in the rowing, but also more supporters in the audience for the competitions”, comments Anolte.
Katriina Uljas-Rautio, lecturer at the language centre of University of Lapland, was also rowing in the winning team and helping to organise the team. She sees that the purpose of holding the rowing competitions between the University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences is to increase the visibility of the two higher education institutions through joint activities and playful competition in the city scenery.
“It has been a tradition that gathers staff and students to work together. The coxswain has usually been a representative of the university management. At the end of the race, the winning team has thrown its coxswain into the river, although this year we did not follow this tradition. Sometimes the co-pilot is also sprayed with sparkling wine – there are even pictures of that! Another tradition has also been an informal evening out after the competition. Later in the Autumn, we’ve civilly had some coffee together at the university, at least if we’ve won the competition,” says Uljas-Rautio.
The church boat rowing race has mostly followed the same routine over the years: the race starts from Pohjanhovi beach, near Jätkänkynttilä bridge, from where you row downstream around Kotisaari, until you return upstream to the starting point. This year however was somewhat exceptional.
“This year the starting and ending point was Valdemari beach for the first time. In addition, in the past the University of Lapland has borrowed the boat of the Rovaniemi church boat rowers and only the Lapland University of Applied Sciences had its own boat. For the race of 2018 we got new boat of our own. We won with the old boat only twice while with the new one we haven’t lost one race”, says Uljas-Rautio.
“In general, the composition of the team has been in a state of variation until the very last day and this year was no different. For many years, the principle has been that at least four practices have been held before the race. During that time, we get to know the rowing technique, practice rowing together, refine our strategy and raise the spirit of togetherness. It has been the custom for the Rovaniemi church boat rowers to train us. This year, we deviated from this tradition, because already in our own group there were several people who were familiar with rowing.
Mental preparation is also needed: we learn to tolerate the presence of another boat, the reaction of the public, the pressure of race day and so on. In addition, assembling the team, the training sessions and the competition itself require a lot of practical arrangements. It’s the quiet work that is always done in the background of all events out of the unrequited love for the sport,” explains Uljas-Rautio.
The recruitment of rowers usually starts in August with an announcement on the university’s Intra, but according to Uljas-Rautio, gathering the rowers has always been a challenge through that way. Word-of-mouth has always worked better.
Next year’s church boat race will likely be held in September once again. Keep your eyes peeled for when team recruitment starts and don’t hesitate to give it a try! And if rowing isn’t your cup of tea, be sure to come cheer for your own team on the day of the race by the Kemijoki riverside!
The main photo of the article, the team photo from the 2022 competition, was photographed by Ilona Mettiäinen.