Rowing is a special sport adopted by Kastorians, taking place at the Nautical Club of Kastoria By food journalist Dimitris Stathopoulos.
Rowing is a special sport adopted by Kastorians, taking place at the Nautical Club of Kastoria.
It's early afternoon. Light drizzle. We've arranged to meet at the Nautical Club of Kastoria to talk with the kids and the coach of Kastoria's Rowing team. Together with Ilias Kosindas, the photographer, and after various stops in town plus the "gyrolimnia" (as they call the perimeter walk around the peninsula connecting the lake's southern side with the northern), we arrive at the Club.
Kids have started arriving and you see from the first moment an atmosphere of joy and teasing spirit. "Sports shape their character, and some of the strongest friendships have been created here," the very experienced coach with significant distinctions, Mr. Anastasios Lapikovas, will tell us a bit later.
Time passes and the courtyard fills with kids who, depending on their age, will do corresponding training. Some, the younger ones, will remain at indoor facilities, while the rest will go out on the lake. Following the coach's instructions, athletes carry rowing boats to the lake and prepare to start. It's a relatively time-consuming process, yet their movements are synchronized and steady. Among other things, they carry to the water a very impressive, large boat, the eight-oared shell, carrying 8 athletes and the coxswain.
The dock from which they put boats in the water soon has only the athletes' shoes, who have poured onto the lake. Their coach follows with a small inflatable, giving appropriate instructions. Inside it also our photographer who wants shots of the athletes in action. Time passes and truthfully the speed they develop with rowing boats is great. Waiting for their return from the water, Panagiotis Mitroudis, president of the Nautical Club of Kastoria, gives me a tour of the club's interior.
At that moment the younger children do their own training. In the center of the large hall is a pool containing a static boat in which young athletes learn to row. Some others around do other exercises with gym equipment. In a prominent position are display cases with dozens of medals and club distinctions. "The Nautical Club of Kastoria has great distinctions, and our goal is to continue on this path," Mr. Mitroudis notes, who at certain points in our conversation refers to difficulties, lack of funds, plus organization. At the same time, through his own experience, he speaks about what each child who finds themselves here during adolescence and post-adolescence gains. "However many years pass, what happens here will follow you. Life's conditions may change, you may find yourself far away, yet the common denominator will unite you forever with these people, with this town."
The truth is that during the days of this press trip we stayed in town, I found that in every group, every family, there's someone, or perhaps more than one, who has a connection with rowing. Involvement with rowing is truly in the DNA of the town itself. Almost every child, after age 11 or 12, will find themselves trying the water and the rowing experience. Some will stay, some won't. But everyone speaks about this sport with love, as something truly their own.
Rowing in Kastoria has a special and rich history, reflecting the close relationship between the town and its lake. Kastoria's lake, with its natural beauty, offers the ideal environment for rowing and has become a place attracting athletes and teams from around the world. Besides national competitions, international rowing races are held, strengthening the area's reputation globally.
Time has passed, training is complete, and we talk with the coach this time, Anastasios Lapikovas. "Parents send their kids here, and many of them were here themselves. Here they made friendships, lifelong acquaintances. Sending their kids here, they know exactly what to expect, they know the emotions, difficulties, and perseverance required." We talk, and at that moment approaches Dimitra Papaioannou, the Kastorian rower who came second at the World Junior Women's Championship held in France last summer. She's a cheerful, slender girl who simultaneously integrates into the team with her fellow athletes, experiencing the essence of sports.
Indeed, we stayed many hours at this place. And we would have stayed more if we didn't have continuation in our program. It's the feeling that something very high-quality happens here, something very alive that gives impetus to life itself. The clarity in these kids' eyes, their mutual teasing, and simultaneously their dedication to training needs. Sports, among everything else, creates mature people capable of coping with daily life. Sports, if it didn't exist, we'd probably have to invent it.
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