10 Questions With ... Elia Bishop -- Women's Crew

This week, we kick off our coverage on Orange Coast College women's crew with a "10 Questions With" feature on Elia Bishop.

1. For those not familiar with rowing, I understand that there are different roles and responsibilities for each person in the boat. Take me through the boat and illustrate what some of these duties are? What is the key for getting maximum power and efficiency for each race?

"Last year I as in the 5-seat, which is usually like the faster end of the boat. The 7-8 seats are usually the two top rowers, while the 5-6 seats and the 3-4 seats are the powers of the boat. The 1-2 seats are more of the directional rowers who help us stay straight. A good boat kind of blends all of this together. My personal goal is to make it to the 7-seat because they set the pace for us. But since we haven't been able to get out in the boats, it's hard to tell at this point where we all are."

2. How did you become a rower? Did you play other sports growing up?? Tell us your journey from growing up to becoming a rower for OCC?

"I live in a very small town in Northern California, near the Oregon border. I grew up with basketball and volleyball and I was terrible at both of them. My sister said she had a bunch of friends in crew at the Humboldt Bay Rowing Association, so I tried it and had an amazing time. At the end of high school, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but my sister recommended that I row at Coast. I missed the sport so I moved down to attend school at Orange Coast so I could row."

3. Take me through a typical race … I assume it's a lot like a distance track race, where you get out strong, then maintain pace as long as you can before a big kick at the end, or is it a bit different than that? Are there outlying factors that might cause plans to change a bit?

"My guess is it's probably similar to track. If you're right next to a boat, you want to pull away from there. There's a bit of motivation at the beginning. In the middle, you get pretty winded, but the coxswain is there yelling at us to push hard at the end."

4. It's been a weird year so far thanks to COVID so what have you been doing out of the water to maintain your strength and stamina for a return to the water??

"Unfortunately, I have not been able to get out on a boat, so I've been lifting a lot of weights to stay strong. I also joined the local fire department, so I do workouts with them. I also surf as well – not the same intensity, but it helps to maintain. I also have a rowing machine at the gym and in our team's zoom meetings, we have spreadsheets of my workouts that I send to Coach Behr weekly."

5. Rowing or otherwise, what has been the hardest part for you in dealing with COVID and having your life so affected by all that's going on??  And … has the lessons taught to you from rowing helped you handle this obstacle a little better than others??

"Well, I've had to move back home because of COVID so I'm not able to be with the team.  Rowing has been able to help me keep track of my school work, so now, it's harder for me, but I do know I need to stay on top of it. I didn't really care much about my grades before rowing, so that has really helped me with my academics."

6. If I gave you a 24-hour pass from COVID and you could do anything that you used to do, what would it be?? What do you miss the most from this isolation??

"I would probably just do something with my team and see things I haven't been able to see over the past six months. I miss rowing with my team and running with my teammates. I can't wait to get back again."

7. All kids like to eat … what are your favorite meals??
   1. Favorite food in general – "There is a restaurant up here that does an amazing tofu curry … and I also love a veggie pho too."
   2. Favorite pre-race snack – "Oranges … the small cutie oranges are perfect for a pre-race snack."
   3. Favorite post-race meal – "Usually I don't like to eat too much … stir fry veggies perhaps? I don't really have a ritual for that one."
8. When you're not competing, what do you enjoy doing?? Any hobbies or interests???

"I just work a lot when I'm not rowing. working out is my whole life. It's work, working out and school life for me."

9. In this COVID world there has been a LOT of TV binge watching going on … what are some of your favorite shows you've been hooked on over the past several months?

"There's a show I've been watching called, Letter Kenny. It's a show about a bunch of Canadian hicks that's really good."

10. What are some of your plans after OCC?? Perhaps a career beyond crew??

"My sister goes to UCLA, so I would like to continue that family legacy. My plans are to get into a good four-year school and learn as much as I can about nutrition. I would love to help people in that regard."