Courtesy of LC Athletics
Sports romances are hardly new, but recent releases have brought renewed attention to the genre. From “Heated Rivalry” to “Off Campus,” hockey in particular has become a backdrop for romantic drama. Netflix, however, decided to trade the ice rink for the water with “Crew Girl” — a Canadian coming-of-age series centered on the less frequently dramatized sport of rowing, also known as crew.
The series follows Teagan Tao, a teenage single scull champion who, after a family scandal, moves from California to a small town on the East Coast. Hoping to continue her rowing career and further her goal of making the Olympics, she enrolls at an elite prep school. She soon discovers it has no girls’ rowing program, as the school has only been co-educational for two years. Determined to maintain her involvement in the sport, Tao becomes the coxswain of the school’s boys’ varsity crew team despite having no experience in the role.
For those unfamiliar with rowing, single sculling involves one athlete propelling a boat using two oars. A coxswain, on the other hand, typically does not row at all. Coxswains are only present in four-person and eight-person boats. They sit in the stern or bow of the boat, steer it, direct the crew and help coordinate performance. It is quite the transition for Teagan, who is accustomed to competing alone.
Naturally, as in good young adult television, Tao’s new position becomes the perfect recipe for rivalry, interpersonal drama and romantic attraction. The series, which was released in the United States on Sept. 10, has earned a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes, as of October 13, sparked online shipping wars between Teagan and the two male leads and has been renewed by Netflix for a second season.
Now, whether one enjoyed the show is one thing, but not everyone was convinced by its portrayal of rowing. Real life rowers criticized “Crew Girl” for its oversimplification of the sport and disregard for technical mastery. Was the rowing really that bad, or were experienced athletes simply holding a fictional teen drama to an impossible standard?
To find out, I reached out to Sunny Greenblum ’28, a member of Lewis & Clark’s varsity crew team who has been rowing for a little over two years now and, fortunately for me, had watched the entire series.
Her verdict? Entertaining, sure. Accurate? Well, that is another story.
She compared “Crew Girl” to teen dramas such as “Ginny & Georgia” and “Riverdale,” describing it as the kind of show that remains entertaining even when its questionable plot lines make viewers cringe. Despite the moments of secondhand embarrassment, she enjoyed watching the series with her roommates, largely because they could laugh about it together.
“Honestly, I don’t think I could watch it on my own though,” Greenblum said.
Fair enough. But beyond the cringeworthy drama, how well does the series actually represent rowing?
One of Greenblum’s biggest criticisms concerned Tao’s performance as a coxswain. Although she thought the show explained the general responsibilities of the position well enough for non-rowers, the execution left much to be desired. She said that the show summarizes Tao’s responsibilities as being the team’s motivator, responsible for encouraging the rowers during practices and races while attempting to hold the group together during hard times. While motivation is certainly part of the job, Greenblum explained that an effective coxswain’s responsibilities extend beyond that.
“From my experience, coxswains are supposed to help rowers keep rhythm, encourage them and help with technique by giving specific instructions,” she said.
But Tao does not always appear to have received that memo.
Greenblum recalled scenes in which Tao repeatedly shouted, “Row! Row! Row!” to her teammates, an instruction she said she had never heard a coxswain give her. While such calls might sound sufficiently motivational to an audience unfamiliar with the sport — they did to me — they offer little of the specific guidance rowers actually need.
Still, Greenblum acknowledged that the series did get some things right. One example was a scene in which Tao had to map out a course and steer the boat around sharp turns. According to Greenblum, steering is a significant responsibility that requires coxswains to consider other boats, the shoreline and even the depth of the water. When a sharp turn becomes particularly difficult, a coxswain can instruct rowers on either the port or starboard side to row harder to help maneuver the boat.
“If a coxswain steers the boat incorrectly, it can put them, the rowers and other boats in the race at risk,” Greenblum said.
Another element the series emphasized was the importance of the stroke seat, i.e. the rower who sets the rhythm of the boat. In “Crew Girl,” the position became a source of considerable competition among the athletes.
Greenblum, however, said this is not something she has encountered at LC. While she acknowledged that the position may be sought after on highly competitive teams, she explained that rowers on her team generally accept whichever seats they are assigned without fighting over specific positions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Greenblum also found little in common with Tao’s personal ambitions. Whereas Tao prefers rowing alone, with Olympic aspirations, Greenblum joined the sport in college to make friends, stay active and try something new to get out of her comfort zone. She also has little desire to become a coxswain herself, describing the position as one that requires “extensive planning, responsibility and mental energy.”
At the same time, there was one aspect of the series that she felt captured the sport particularly well: teamwork.
“Rowing is a sport where everyone has to do the same thing in unison and if people have issues with each other, it can affect how well they work together,” Greenblum said.
And if there is one thing “Crew Girl” has no shortage of, it is conflict.
As someone who has long been curious about rowing, Greenblum’s firsthand insight gave me a new understanding of the sport beyond its fictional portrayal.
Does knowing that “Crew Girl” is not an accurate representation of rowing make me regret watching it? Not particularly. After all, we do not necessarily turn to “Grey’s Anatomy” for an education in medicine or “Hawaii Five-0” for a masterclass in policing. We watch for the drama, the characters, the relationships and occasionally, the sheer blunder of it all. “Crew Girl” is no different.
But that does not mean accuracy is unimportant. For athletes who have dedicated years to understanding and practicing their sport, watching it misrepresented can understandably be frustrating. As Greenblum’s insights show, the realities of rowing are interesting enough without needing to be exaggerated.
So should you watch “Crew Girl”?
If you know a thing or two about rowing, take a page from Greenblum’s book and watch it with friends. At least you will have someone to hold your hand through the questionable coxswain calls and laugh with when the rowing technique gets painful. And if, like me, you are blissfully ignorant of the sport’s technicalities and would rather criticize character motivations while trying to understand the character appeal of Tao’s love interests, then by all means, press play.
Just do not mistake it for a rowing tutorial. You may drown.
Interview conducted via email with Sunny Greenblum
1. What was your immediate impression of the Canadian series, Crew Girl?
I thought it was one of those shows that you watch because it’s entertaining even though it makes you cringe, like Ginny and Georgia or Riverdale. Although there were some questionable plot lines and scenes that gave me second hand embarrassment, the best part was being able to watch it with my roommates and laugh about it. Honestly, I don’t think I could watch it on my own though.
2. How long have you been a rower and on the LC rowing team?
I joined the LC crew team when I was a freshman, so I’ve been on the team for a little over two years.
3. You’re on the varsity crew team so are probably familiar with the role of a coxswain. Do you think the series portrayed who and what a coxswain does accurately?
I feel like there are multiple issues with the way coxswains are depicted in Crew Girl, but I also think that the overall job of a coxswain is explained as well as it needs to be for people who are not rowers. Teagan’s coxswain responsibilities are summarized as being the main motivator of the senior rowers during practice and races, as well as someone who tries to bring the team together during hard times. However, most of the calls she makes in the boat as a coxswain do not seem very accurate to me. Lots of the things she says to the rowers in the boat are things that I would not find very helpful or motivational at all. For example, I feel like I remember a scene or two where all she is saying is “Row! Row! Row!” which is not something I have ever heard a coxswain say to me. From my experience, coxswains are supposed to help rowers keep rhythm, encourage them, and help with technique by giving specific instructions. Teagan never did anything like that, but did attempt to encourage them.
4. Teagan (the main character), experiences a lot of pressure on the team. It seems as though the success of a rowing team i.e. if they win or lose heavily depends on how well the coxswain does their job and how well the team responds to them. Would you agree with this? Is this generally true?
I think this depends on the skills of the rowers as well, but usually the skills of the coxswain also has a major impact on how well the boat does. One realistic example of what coxswains have to do in Crew Girl is when Teagan has to map out a course and steer the boat along sharp turns. This can get difficult in real life because you have to keep the other boats into account, as well as the shoreline and how deep the water is. If the coxswain cannot steer sharply enough, they can instruct rowers on either the port or starboard side to row more heavily and assist in the turn. If a coxswain steers the boat incorrectly, it can put them, the rowers, and other boats in the race at risk.
5. Did you identify with Teagan and her experience in the show? If yes, why? If no, why?
I cannot relate to Teagan because I joined the crew team to make friends, stay in shape, and learn something new to get me out of my comfort zone. Teagan wanted to go to the Olympics and also preferred to row in a single person boat, and I just started rowing in college and cannot imagine myself going to the Olympics. I also have never been very motivated to try and be a coxswain. Coxing a boat seems to take so much planning, responsibility, and mental energy that I would prefer to stick with rowing.
6. Are there things the show does well to portray rowing as a sport?
I think the show portrays the team aspect well at some points, as well as how conflict can negatively affect the team. Rowing is a sport where everyone has to do the same thing in unison, and if people have issues with each other, it can affect how well they work together. Besides that, I don’t think it is too accurate.
7. Is there anything else you would like to tell me about the series — more thoughts and opinions you have? This could be about the interpersonal team drama in the series, rowing technique, etc
The team in Crew Girl seems to put a lot of emphasis on the position of the stroke seat. All the other rowers have to follow what they do because the stroke seat sets the rhythm and speed of the boat. Maybe on extremely competitive teams it is a position that is more sought after, but on the Lewis & Clark team, people happily accept whatever position they are assigned to and do not seem to fight over any specific spot in the boat (that I have noticed).
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