The Sharon McGaw Wilson Award – Leah McDonald

The Sharon McGaw Wilson Award honours a member of the Ladies Club who exemplifies dedication and teamwork, consistently shows up, supports others and is always there for her fellow club members. Sharon was an alumna and passionate advocate for the sport, and recipients embody the spirit and commitment that Sharon herself had when rowing at Queens.

At the annual dinner, Captain Clara McClements introduced this year’s recipient as follows:

“This woman has shown commitment to the club throughout her time at Queens, both as a novice and intermediate rower. She brings a warming presence to the boathouse, is honest and rarely complains. This award is all about approachability and kindness and who they are as a person. She is friends with everyone in the club and does an amazing job of making everyone feel welcome in the background. Congratulations, Leah McDonald!”

Congratulations! What was your first reaction when your name was announced at the dinner?

I was honestly just in a state of shock! I wasn’t really anticipating it – I was more just having fun and enjoying chatting to everyone at our table, and then listening to Clara [ladies’ captain] at the same time. When my name was called, and it was just a blur.

You started rowing at Queen’s as a novice – can you explain a little more about what made you decide to try rowing?

So, throughout school I never did any sports, I was the bottom of the physical ‘food chain’. All of those runs at school – I was barely getting through them. There was a girl the year below me in school who rowed, and I thought That’s so unfair; I want to try that. I saw loads of people on TV doing it and I thought I’m a tall girl; why’s that not me? So, I thought I’d give it a go.

I went to see the club at fresher’s fair, and honestly, I was still a bit perturbed. I was kind of scared – it was a big thing to come into. I guess I thought I had nothing else better to do, and if you want something badly enough, you’ll stick at it.

Could you tell me a bit more about those first few weeks as a novice?

The first few weeks were terrifying. In my very first water session, I was in the two seat of a quad with three intermediate athletes who all knew how to row. I just remember thinking Oh my goodness, what do I do with my hands?  Why are my knees in the way? But it got better. Everything improved so quickly, and the friendships I made helped as well.

How do you always bring a positive outlook to the boat club?

First -and probably most honest answer –  I’m most likely still really tired and not quite awake yet, so I struggle to be anything but nice! I’m not always the strongest person in the boat, so if I can bring a happy atmosphere, the people around me also start to feel better.

I feel like while it’s great to be competitive, if you aren’t enjoying your time, no one is going to want to compete or strive to get better. But if you form good connections with your crew, you want to work harder for them.

As a medical student, balancing work and training must be difficult. How do you give yourself enough time to do it all?

Sometimes, it feels like I don’t!  In surgeries, it’s important that everyone takes a pause to make sure everyone knows where they are, to review what’s been done so far,  and make sure everything is going as it should be. I find that doing this through the day helps.

You wake up, you go down to rowing, and thankfully, that’s out of the way before the rest of the world is awake. I like to pause after that and grabbing a nice wee coffee to de-stress after the session, then you can go into the day refreshed, awake and ready to power through because you’ve already achieved half of your goals for the day.

I make sure to eat lots and get some social time with non-rowers and non-medics for balance. Some weeks, medicine will take priority over rowing and vice versa – it’s just about finding a balance and making sure you’re on top of both.

What do you think makes a great teammate when it comes to rowing?

A great teammate is someone who can use their own strengths to guide others along the way, but also see how differences can make you stronger as a team. Not everyone is going to row exactly the same, so it’s about finding a combination of all of those strengths that is going to give you the best outcome.

It’s not always about having a perfect crew line up; it’s about doing the best you can with the people you are with –  adaptability is key.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to a novice rower starting at Queen’s, what would it be?

Keep at it. Yes, there is the fear of selections and cuts, and I think it has got harder than when we were novices ! But the first thing we got told as novices was “Do not worry now if you are not fit, this programme will make you fit – but only if you stick at it.”

Even though, my scores and technique weren’t probably the best in the very beginning, I showed up and I tried my hardest. At the end of the day, it’s about giving it your all and maintaining a positive outlook.  Just turn up and keep at it.  Others will fall at the consistency aspect, so just know that the rest will come.

Lastly, if you had to sum up Queen’s Rowing in one word so far what would it be and why?

Evolving. It’s never meant to be easy; there is always something that you can do better. Each year, you develop so much. September feels like square one, but you never loose progress – you just start from a new ‘best’. There’s always more to go, and the journey isn’t done

Written by Jess Knibbs