Free Success at Silver Spires by Ann Bryant

four position, and it’s generally the strongest and most rhythmical rower who takes this place. Another name for number four is stroke. Then there are positions three and two, and lastly the rower sitting at the front of the boat, who is furthest away from the cox, is number one or bow, same as the name of the front of the boat. You don’t have to be such a strong oarswoman to row at bow,” Ryan was saying, “but you should be nice and accurate and keep it level.”
    â€œYou ought to be bow, Sasha,” Holly suddenly said. “And I’ll be stroke as I’m probably the strongest, aren’t I?” She was looking at the other girls with her eyebrows raised.
    They all nodded, but Charlotte said, “I don’t mind which position I’m in.”
    â€œYou can keep swapping round,” said Ryan, “so you all get a go in every position. I’ll cox first…” He looked round the five of us. “Tilly, do you mind just watching from here for a few minutes while I demonstrate the kind of thing we’ve just been practising with the rowing machine?”
    Tilly said she didn’t mind at all, so we put the blades in and got in the boat carefully. Mikki was in the bow position, at the front of the boat, but behind the other rowers. Then I was in front of her at number two, Holly was in front of me, and finally Charlotte was facing Ryan, at stroke. Ryan sat in the cox’s seat and told each of us to shout out our position – “Bow” and “Two” and so on – once we’d got our gates done up and were ready.
    â€œNow this is more difficult than single sculling, because you really have to work together and keep to the same rhythm, otherwise the oars will get all tangled up. Try not to look at your own oars, but keep watching stroke’s.”
    After that Ryan called, “Whole crew come forward and square up!” He’d already told us that this meant we had to bend our legs, as we’d practised in the Viruses, and put our arms straight out, then make sure our blades were buried in the water, ready to row. “This is the ‘catch’ position,” Ryan explained. Next he told us to sit up tall, keep relaxed and start sculling when he gave the command. “Whole crew, paddling light, are you ready…? Go!”
    And off we went. Once we were properly in the rhythm and going well he said, “Sit up and drive now ! Legs now ! Drive now !”
    It was hard work and you had to concentrate like mad, but I absolutely loved it. Working in a team and being exactly in time with the others was the best feeling ever. And it was so brilliant to feel how much faster we could move along through the water with four of us rowing instead of just me. I didn’t even mind that I was right behind Holly, because I hardly gave it a thought and, anyway, Ryan was there.
    After a few minutes, Tilly, who’d been watching and listening from the side, swapped places with Ryan, and the rest of us stayed in the same positions. I’d have been really nervous if I’d been Tilly, so I wasn’t really surprised that she kept breaking into nervous giggles when she first started directing us, as though she found it a bit embarrassing. But Holly told her off.
    â€œBe serious, Tilly. It’s an important role. Do you want me to do it?”
    â€œI’ll just try for a bit longer, then you can take over,” Tilly replied. But she couldn’t really remember what she had to say and a few minutes later we went back to the landing stage, where Ryan supervised us as we swapped over.
    â€œMove round, girls,” he said. “Let’s try Sasha as stroke.”
    This was exactly what I’d been dreading. It meant I had to be directly facing Holly while she gave the instructions.
    â€œAre you okay?” mouthed Izzy from her scull just nearby, when she saw where I was sitting.
    I nodded and tried to smile, because I