Sitting at Gauteng Champs enjoying a cold one with my business partner, I overheard two lads chatting about their future. Both were clearly addicted to their rowing yet one seemed particularly in awe of the sport and was asked by his 'brother in arms" how far he would take his rowing. " I am going for a gold at the Olympics," came the resounding reply. I looked at the crowd and wandered how many parents out there had been given a similar answer to this question and whether they knew the ramifications of such a seemingly naive yet admirable statement.

"Wow!" I thought. Would the answer have been the same if he knew the sacrifices involved? I reflected on my rowing career, which spans some 25 years of slavery to the sport including all sorts of medals from the youngest rower at Wemmer Sprints to several Henley wins and a Gold for England at the World Champs. This being the closest I could get to my young friend's rather "modest' target of an Olympic Gold.

This nostalgic trip forced me to remember a great deal of superstars that I truly worshiped within the sport but am eternally grateful that I did not follow. By this I mean an elite group of athletes I call the "Die Hards." These are the rowers that sacrifice absolutely everything for the sport. They forgo their families, friends, lovers, education and even their careers for their very ambitious and often illusive rowing dreams. Cruelly enough they are not what rowing legends are made of. Although they are typically phenomenal oarsmen and have impressive rowing CV's, they become the absolute specialist that can only participate in rowing conversations and quite obviously a bore at any dinner party outside the fraternity.

Over my Christmas break I breezed through a great book entitled "The Crossing". Co-Written by James Cracknell, one of my very good teammates from the English squad. It's a life inspiring account of his crossing the Atlantic Ocean with a TV journalist who had never rowed more than four hours prior to the start of their epic win. Besides a good read, the book forces one to weigh up a life of International Rowing against the rest of one's life.

You may think that I am sounding pessimistic or regretful at this stage but I can assure you my feelings towards the sport are nothing but wonder and indebtedness. I have come to realise that rowing has actually been my ticket to the much larger game of life off the water. Rowing installs several valuable life attributes such self-confidence, tenacity, discipline, sportsmanship, ambition, goal setting and the commitment to achieving one's vision. It also exposes you to some of the top leaders in any country. It is certainly no accident that all the top Schools and Universities have a rowing programme. These institutions are always on the prowl for raw talent to boost their speed and often willing to provide bursaries to get it. I am reminded of fellow Oxford alumni, Collin Moynihan, who admits his rowing life exposed him to the right people, values, principles and provided a moral reference throughout his political career and ultimately to the position of the U.K's minister of Sport. To this day his speeches always include an element of fair play and respect towards the opposition and the role they play in improving his own performance.

For me it was a great man named Tom Price, who watched over me and kept me on target throughout my life and well after my International Rowing career ended. Tom introduced me to others who provided more guidance and life training. These people have found me paying positions as a cox or a boatman or a coach in some of the greatest cities all over the world. All people I would never have been exposed to if it weren't for the sport of rowing.

The real sadness in this sport is the amount of time it consumes. We spend hours getting to and from training destinations. Each training session has a pre-chat and a post-chat that eats into your day even more. Then there are those excruciating hours on the ergo machine, which again detract from your day. The "Die Hards" are bitten by the bug and push harder and harder for longer each time. Knowing full well that they are sacrificing all the other areas of life. They scrape through their education, perform sub optimally at work and pay very little attention to those close to them. All the time convincing themselves that once they have that ultimate gold medal around their neck, they can play "catch up" and all will be on par again. The definition of "sacrifice" is clearly warped here as we all know that time is a one directional live game that doesn't have an action replay for stragglers.

It is widely recognised that the peak of an endurance athlete occurs around the age of 28 years old and it is very often pushed at the same level of commitment for an additional six or seven years to the mid thirties. Finally, a younger athlete beats the "Die Hard" out of his squad seat and they are left "homeless" and even more earth shattering, without a clear direction of their own. You see, till now the coach and the squad programme have always been the source of direction.

When chatting to Ramon Di Climente, another good rowing friend and business associate, the word "balance" rings loudly in the back of my mind. In my opinion a true champion is someone who manages to balance their life in all areas and still maintain a high level of excellence in their sport. It's not winning at all costs. All the true champions I know have achieved in their personal and professional lives parallel to their pursuit of rowing nirvana. They have paid attention to developing all facets of their lives and will continue to achieve in various paths throughout their lives.

As the owner of RowtroniQ, I consider myself fortunate in being able spend a few moments of my week talking to various parents and coaches on my favourite subject of rowing. I also spend large amounts of energy coaching people of all age groups and the same question often arises.

"Is my child going to be in the National Squad and is he going to get a Gold?"

My answer is always the same. I believe that whether they are exceptional at the sport or not, it is still worth pursuing as long as we exercise an element of realism and keep it in perspective. Rowing will not make you a media star or an oil Baron but it will make you a well-rounded, mature, and highly competitive leader.

So in essence Rowing isn't exclusively about the "game" itself but rather a "ticket to the game" of life and given what rubs off on you and depending on how you manage it, that ticket may well be for the best seat in the house.

Chris King

(Cliffy to the rowing fraternity)