Ignoring the Forecast

1 June 2011Sarah M

Anyone who has paid a visit to Canada’s beautiful “Wetcoast” knows that weather can change in an instant, and not always for the better, but when we’re living in a place as beautiful as this, atmospheric indecisiveness is a sorry excuse to cancel plans.
Outdoor Pursuits coach Mr. Dan Norman boasts of never having cancelled a class because of weather, as his students who have rolled kayaks in snow and hail, hiked mountains in sludge and rain, and struggled to paddle against whistling headwinds, well know. Though the rocks may be slippery and our attire damp, if we didn’t climb in the rain every so often, we’d do very little climbing. It is this desire to pursue the activities that we love no matter the weather that really showcases the persistence of Brentwood students.
Of course, when circumstances become too extreme for some sports (as the rowers know well) we can always find another activity. Years of regattas cancelled by wind prove that to win a race one has to want to be there. At the annual Brentwood Regatta, spectators long for sunny viewing weather while coaches dread this as it is usually accompanied by race-cancelling onshore winds.
If rowing in the rain means calm water, a Brentwood rower will take the drizzle any day. Just as slipping and sliding on a rain soaked tennis court doesn’t make for a very good game and struggling to row through whitecaps means a difficult race, there’s always another time for practice and plenty else to do in the meantime.
In response to the Grade 11 leadership day held on a damp and chilly Sunday, some students said the weather drew them closer together—once they accepted they were getting wet no matter what. Of course, all mentioned that a little sun would have been a welcomed guest, but there is a certain intensity factor that comes only with a bought of bad weather—tackling into a pool of mud in a rugby game shows you mean business and there’s nothing better than a bit of muck streaking war paint to really get us into a game of capture the flag.
Knowing that the weather is as changeable as the tides, but not nearly as predictable, we go about our events with constant high spirits, taking the weather forecast as more of a guideline than a rule and making due with whatever may come. When we’re doing what we love, a good day is entirely impervious to a cloudy sky. There’s no such thing as bad weather when you’re among friends.

Where Students Choose To Be