Competition or Cooperation?

Joan S. Ingalls

You get to the boathouse early so you can grab the best set of oars. You peruse the catalogues for an ever more ergonomic pair of trou. You read about high intensity workouts to improve your strength. You  learn all you can about nutrition to boost your energy. But that’s not all: You pass up a night out with your friends so you can make an early workout. You force yourself to endure pain in the belief that it is the only way to get faster. On race day, you are fiercely focused. Having trained so hard and made so many sacrifices, you want to win, not just perform well. You don’t know who will show up to race you or what shape they will be in, but never mind, you want to win — beat them. And you won’t be satisfied if the victory is too easy... so, it’s not just winning that you want, but the opportunity to prove yourself; the challenge of the competition.

But what is competition? Who are we and what are we doing when we are on the water? Competition means my success is your failure. If I obtain my goal, then you don’t obtain yours. It is essentially a "zero sum" game. Competition may be best described as a situation. It’s a situation, in which individuals or teams strive against each other to obtain a goal that only one can ultimately achieve. In rowing, we can distinguish several kinds of competition. Competition can be "direct" or "indirect".  A regatta is a direct competition. The participants can gauge themselves against each other throughout the race. Head races and stake races are indirect competitions. The competitors are theoretically racing against the clock, not each other. (Experienced competitors, however, can judge their positions, and make at least part of the race a direct competition, if they choose.) Competition can be "public" or "private". It is a private matter if, when out for a practice row, I spot another rower, and make it a personal challenge to pass him. Or, when I watch my stroke meter and determine to improve on my previous rating. Or, when I time myself for 500 meters, and compare the results to the previous 500. It is a public matter whether it is an internationally sanctioned race or a scrimmage to see who gets back to the dock first.

In general, we have developed many myths about competition. Alfie Kohn, a well-known researcher in competition, outlines several:

1. Competition is inevitable; it is human nature. This belief is maintained despite the fact that more than half a century ago, Margaret Mead found that competition was unknown among the Zuni and Iroquois Indians.

2. Competition brings out the best in us. Actually, research shows that cooperation raises standards, and promotes higher achievement than competition. Competition may lower standards because it increases anxiety, and prevents us from sharing useful information. Surveys show that successful people, outside of sports, love a challenge, but they are not motivated by winning. Succeeding and beating others are not the same. Many successful athletes do not take their need to win into their personal or professional lives. For example, in a recent interview with Independent Rowing News, Dereck Porter said, "Off the water I wouldn’t consider myself a very competitive person, which is markedly different to when I am on the water."

3. Competition builds character; it strengthens our self-esteem. However, the possibility of being humiliated is always present in competition. Debilitated by anxiety, individuals with low self-esteem lose. Their low self-esteem becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Losing can be so frustrating that it can bring about aggression. How does that contribute to building character?

What about cooperation? I believe that competition is cooperation. Competitors are cooperating to bring out the best in each other. They are cooperating by being be in the same place at the same time and following the rules.

"So what?" you may ask, "Who cares what you call it? I am out there to win."

But how do you know you are out there to win? What does that mean? The desire to win can be harmful if you put winning above excellence, or if you are willing to cheat to win, or if you fear humiliation if you lose, or fear that you will treat a loser as inferior. What if you fear pressure at the top or becoming arrogant and unbearable if you win? What I am saying is that most of us are conflicted about winning. We aren't just "out there to win." We are many things. We are complex. Our "wanting" to win is determined by our competitive culture and its many myths about competition. We can create any scene that we want when we are on the water. We can choose to cooperate, not compete. But we first have to consider our complexity as human beings and the many possibilities open to us. Competition or cooperation is just one simple duality that I hope will help those of you who just want to win to begin thinking about being a creator of the scene rather than a societally determined competitor. I believe that will make you a better competitor, you will perform better, and you will have more fun