Summer jobs keep IU rowers fit

In the good vibrations of summer, collegiate rowers can have some fun, fun, fun while pursuing a range of interests and jobs that help them on and off the water. \nJunior and co-captain Elisabeth Benoit worked as an assistant director for a day camp in Middleville, Mich. The rest of the time she trained for her first triathlon. \nA former high school swimmer and water polo player, Benoit, along with teammate junior Erin Kuehn, competed in an endurance contest that included a .5-mile swim, 18-mile bike ride and 4.5-mile run. \n"I loved it," said Benoit. "It was so much fun."\nBenoit thinks pulling an oar helped her prepare for the race, making her better able to focus. She also could muster the perseverance required for an all-out effort in a three-sport challenge. \n"I knew how much I could push myself because I have to push myself so much in rowing," she said. \nBenoit admits she was "hurting" during the final leg of the race, but believes the physical and mental toughness required in rowing gave her a never-give-up attitude. \n"I kept saying, 'You know what this feels like, you've done this before,'" she said. \nJunior Ashley Airis had planned to spend this summer rowing on Bloomington's Lake Lemon, but ran out of money after a few weeks. Instead, she went to work as a bartender at a resort at Lake Vermillion in Tower, Mich., that her family owns. She did not think of mixing drinks and pouring beer seven days a week as labor, however. \n"It's really awesome being able to meet all the groups of people who come to the lake and to party when I get off work," said Airis, who rows in the engine room of the \nVarsity-8. \nWith the nearest gym an hour a way, Airis ran daily and kept her muscles in shape hauling cases of beer. Customers often clamor for service, so tending a bar helped her become more patient, Airis said. \n"People are really in your face when they want a drink, so I have to stay calm," she said. "That's useful in rowing. When I get frustrated, I have to remain calm."\nCoxswains, the diminutive members of the team who steer the shell and prod the rowers, typically have never pulled an oar. But Varsity-8 coxswain Betsy Hibbard, a sophomore, decided to break convention and learn to row. \nParticipating with the Toledo Rowing Club, Hibbard found out what it is like to propel a boat with an oar. \n"It reminds you of all the things you have to think about as a coxswain," said Hibbard. \nBut it was her job working as waitress alongside single moms that taught Hibbard the most valuable lesson. \n"It makes you appreciate why you're in school," she said. \nHibbard, who nonchalantly discloses having "mastered the art of sleeping in to 1 or 2 p.m." during her three months at home, captures the sentiment among her teammates. \n"I'm excited to be back," Hibbard said.