Rowers bare all to aid mental health
The men and women of the Wellington Rowing Club have doffed their clothes – all in the name of mental health awareness.
It grew from a joke but after several early morning photo shoots, the club has produced a nude fundraising calendar for the second year running.
‘‘I think a lot of people thought it was banter until last year, when we started trotting them out,’’ rower Kade Sheely said.
This year’s photo shoots include some taken along Wellington’s waterfront – a very public spot to strip down.
‘‘There were some pretty early starts,’’ Sheely said
The rowers were used to early practices anyway, but it was just a matter of getting there a bit earlier to sneak in some snaps before the city and commuters started waking up.
‘‘We had to make sure no-one was around.
‘‘Initially there were a few nervous faces but we got used to it quickly,’’ Sheely said.
This time the club members wanted to do something a little bit different with their baring all.
‘‘We thought we would put a bit of a spin on it and raise awareness for men’s mental health,’’ Sheely said.
Mental health awareness was a cause close to many of the club members’ hearts.
Sheely said many rowers who had their careers ended by injury suffered from depression.
To help out, rowing club members decided 10 per cent of their calendar sales would go to the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.
The rest of the funds would go back into the club, to help teams get to events like the national rowing championships at Lake Karapiro in February.
Coach and two-time Olympic gold medallist Dick Joyce said he admired what the rowers were doing.
‘‘Until I saw this calendar I thought I had seen it all and now I really have.
‘‘Kudos to the crews for trying something different and bringing attention to a very worthy cause,’’ Joyce said.
‘‘Please show your support for the calendar and hopefully these rowers will be able to afford some clothes in time for their winter training,’’ he said.
Sheely said they were hoping to sell about 500 calendars.
* Calendars are $25 and can be ordered by emailing
wrccommunications01@gmail.com or by messaging the Wellington Rowing Club’s Facebook page.