Dating while competing on the water

Though dating a teammate may cause some to raise an eyebrow, it may just be the key to winning for this couple on McMaster's rowing teams

For McMaster students and rowers Brooke McCoy and Trevor Tung, their journey as a couple started in a very unconventional way. It began in 2021 while McCoy was on the men’s team. She was the team’s coxswain, the boat’s director, while Tung was one of the rowers. 

McCoy, who is now a graduate student, spoke about her first season on the team.

“Well, originally I was in the men's team with Trevor because I made the team as a coxie. So I didn't actually row physically. I was the person that sat in the boat and steered and called instructions at the rowers. So I was on the men's team, so making friends, I guess, well, maybe it was different for me because I was around a lot of guys, so I made good friends with the other coxie, Jackie,” said McCoy.

As McCoy settled in, she and Tung became much closer compared to their other teammates. They would often hang out through shared interests.

“I think we started rock climbing together and then none of our other friends really got into rock climbing. I think it's because it was expensive, but me and Trevor, we were a bit older than our friend Owen, so we had jobs and he was in first year, so we would buy monthly memberships and that was our, not excuse, but that's how we would hang out just us a lot more,” said McCoy.

Eventually, the two became much closer and decided to begin dating. However, this was not without apprehension. Although McCoy was planning to switch to the women's team, if she ended up staying on the men's team as a coxie it would be a clear conflict of interest for her to lead the boat Tung would be in

“I didn't know if the coaches would be okay with that, so I didn't want to risk my spot in case I didn't make it as a rower. I wanted to still be secure. Even if that wasn't the case, we kind of were more private people. And everyone talks in these teams because everyone is in each other's business,” said McCoy.

But it eventually worked out, as McCoy made the switch to the women’s team as a rower and Tung maintained his place on the men's team. For the two, being on the same team has only improved life in sport

Tung, who is currently in his fifth-year at McMaster, shared that the sport allows them to spend more time together, even while doing mundane activities.

"Sometimes the training can get a little stale or boring. For example, I remember in the summers we'd sit on stationary bikes for hours at a time, so that could be annoying to do alone. But when you have someone who is like a built-in training partner, I feel that makes things more like enjoyable. So it makes the relationship feel more enjoyable and the training more enjoyable as well because it feels nice to accomplish things while you're spending time together,” said Tung.

Even with the highs and lows that come with being involved in a sport, McCoy and Tung have also found that one another's success motivates them—they share in each other’s achievements.

“If you fail yourself or if you don't meet your goal then you still like to share in that achievement of your partner. . . All of our medals are on our shared shelf together. We know who's who for the Ontario championships, but we make jokes about how in 20 years maybe we'll have kids and then we'll be like we don't know whose medal this is,” said McCoy.

With both rowers nearing their final years at McMaster, they feel as though their relationship was given a great start by knowing each other from the team. The two have no fear that without rowing, their relationship will change.

“It [rowing] made us very close. I feel like it only brings us closer, but I don't think that means when rowing leaves us we'll get farther apart. I think it just gave us an irreplaceable foundation and an irreplaceable bond. Our friendship bond gave us this platform to have a really healthy and strong relationship and that friendship I guess came from rowing,” said Tung. 

Though it may seem unconventional to date a teammate, McCoy and Tung seem to relish in all that the sport has brought them, with just one thing being their relationship.