A Co-Creation nourished by the Po and the river of time
In June 2023, I (Wenlin Tan) started to learn to row with the morning group classes at Reale Società Canottieri Cerea and became the student of Coach Emanuele Giacosa. Frustrated with the lack of a structured program for beginners that hindered my learning, I created a proposal for a guide to decent rowing for beginners and suggested to Ema that we work on it together.
Immagine da Federazione Italiana Canottaggio
In response, Ema shared with me his creation from 6 years before in 2017 after winning the Campione d’Italia in 2017 (Pesi Leggeri Quattro Di Coppia): A manual with 3 lessons on the technique of rowing, including il ciclo di voga, borne from his joy after his victory and his passion for rowing. From Autumn 2023 till summer 2024 we started to collaborate on his manual, updating the text and creating images.
Different from Ema’s background as an athlete, as a personal growth coach and teacher of mindfulness, moving meditation and the Creative Cycle and the Five Elements, I experienced rowing as an art that gave me a way to connect with myself, the Water Element and the flow of Life.
This led me to write reflections about the insights I gained about life through the art of rowing, starting with Life Lessons from Rowing on the Po Part I and Part II which resonated with my friends from our morning rowing group.
In August 2024, after months of consulting friends and older members of our rowing club on but failing to reach a conclusion on how and when best to share what we had created, I finally realised the best way and moment would just be to take a cue from Nature: simply start now, and begin imperfectly: thus marked the birth of this blog.
This blog is my love letter to rowing, the Water Element and the River Po, the longest river in Italy that flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps, through Turin, Piacenza, Cremona, and Ferrara, which has nourished us all through centuries.
My hope is also that this blog can become our shared home: for you, me, us, for all lovers of rowing, to share our intimate stories of rowing and how rowing has supported and changed us. Thank you for reading and offering feedback on our articles. I am waiting for you to join me, let’s cocreate together, and share your stories and knowledge of rowing.
Let’s Cocreate: Become a collaborator
Great things come from the process of dreaming big, sharing without reservations, and the magic of co-creation. It is my hope is that, in the future, this home will be filled with the words, dreams, and ideas of many like you, share the same love for rowing.
Would you like to join me? Let’s cocreate together.
Would you like to contribute your poetry, reflections, stories or art about rowing? Join us as a guest contributor.
Send your writing / art / ideas to: [email protected]
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