River Bowl Classic OKC Black alumni rowing competition showcased in short documentary
Shawntay Alexander knows that most people have a certain image of Black athletes.
"When we think of Black people in sports, we think of basketball, football, maybe baseball — but there's a ball somewhere in there," said Alexander, the executive director of the OKC Black Alumni Coalition, a nonprofit organization building a network of local Black alumni.
But as she was brainstorming an activity to bring together Black alumni from Oklahoma City and Millwood public schools, Alexander had a different field of competition in mind: the Oklahoma River.
She worked with the Riversport Foundation board of directors and Executive Director Mike Knopp to start a rowing competition for local Black alumni. The inaugural River Bowl Classic got graduates from five predominantly Black local high schools out on the water last summer.
"We're looking to build on to this, make it a tradition in Oklahoma City ... bringing some outside positive attention, as well, to our state," she said.
To spread the word about the launch last year of the first River Bowl Classic, Alexander, who is a social worker, took on a new role, producing the short documentary "Water Is a Different Ball Game."
Directed by OKC filmmaker James "VideoHero" Ridley and featuring music from local rapper, businessman and activist Jabee, the 15-minute documentary debuted in June during the 23rd annual deadCenter Film Festival in downtown Oklahoma City.
The short film will next screen as part of the second annual Oklahoma Documentary Film Festival, aka Doc OKC, Aug. 4-6 at Auditorium at The Douglass. "Water Is a Different Ball Game" will show at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 during the Doc OKC Festival.
A 2005 Star Spencer High School graduate, Alexander talked with The Oklahoman during deadCenter about bringing together alumni from rival schools, confronting the generational trauma many Black communities experience around water and planning the second annual River Bowl Classic for Aug. 12:
Q: How did you go from planning a high school reunion to starting a rowing league?
Alexander: I wanted there to be a reunion-style event. But in order for that to be successful, it needed to be able to accommodate multiple generations.
At the time, we were also in the midst of a pandemic, so trying to come up with an experience that could be potentially COVID-friendly was something that I had to keep in mind.
I remembered there being a conversation that I'd had with Mike Knopp a few years back, and he had asked, 'How can we engage more in the Black community?' ... and I asked him to take a meeting with me.
He was very open, him and his board, when I pushed out the idea of there being a rowing competition with Black alumni. They loved it, and we actually rolled it out a few months after that conversation. So, everything was fast.
Q: Which schools have alumni participating in the rowing competition?
Alexander: Last year, we had alumni teams from the five predominantly Black local schools, which would be Millwood, Douglas, John Marshall, Star Spencer and Northeast. ...
The alumni teams participating this year include Douglass, Millwood, John Marshall, Star Spencer, Northeast — which the name has been changed to Classen SAS — Southeast and Northwest Classen.
Q: And the plan is for it to be an annual thing, right?
Alexander: Yes. We look forward to the River Bowl Classic returning every year sometime around August. This year, we can look forward to the event being on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Q: At what point did this become a documentary?
Alexander: That was an early thought, even before we started really planning the first event. After we secured a partnership with Riversport, the next thought process was, 'You know what? This could be something really amazing,' understanding that only 2% of rowers are Black.
Although we initially came up with this idea for an opportunity to bring people together, that statistic stood out. For me, this is also an additional opportunity to pipeline other Black youth into the sport of rowing. ... So, I reached out to James Ridley.
Q: How did the historical trauma in Black communities associated with swimming and water sports affect this whole process?
Alexander: When we think about the Black community, and we think about water, especially water sports, we don't really link the two. Often, what we do associate with the Black community when it comes to water is the slave trade or Jim Crow laws that would segregate water spaces back in the day.
Because of those times, that history will tell us that it's not safe. Water is not safe. And there's not a lot of promotion and support and encouragement — or there hasn't been over the years. ... One thing to be mindful of when we're thinking about current-time issues and various obstacles, we actually have to consider the histories that we may not have had lived experiences in. ...
One interesting thing that I observed is that when I was recruiting for rowers, most said, 'I don't know how to swim.' ... So, it was really something that I've grown to appreciate from the very beginning, just understanding that people are taking chances. They're believing in this idea that we can do something together, and we won't leave each other behind. So, it's been a really positive thing to see and actually experience being on the water.
DOC OKC FESTIVAL
When: Aug. 4-6.
Where: Auditorium The Douglass, 600 N High Ave.
'Water Is a Different Ball Game' screening: 7 p.m. Aug. 4.
Information: https://docokc.org.
2023 RIVER BOWL CLASSIC
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12.
Where: Riversport OKC, 800 Riversport Drive.
Information: https://www.facebook.com/okcblackalumnicoalition and https://www.riversportokc.org/events/2nd-annual-river-bowl-classic.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Short documentary traces founding of OKC Black alumni rowing contest
