It was a nice time to learn the basics of rowing. That's exactly what was happening in a session of the Oakland Strokes Summer Rowing Camp.

In one boat, four second-year rowers and four new rowers were receiving instruction from assistant novice women's coach Anita Sarrett, who was in a motorboat near the rowers, and an Oakland Strokes member who was the coxswain.

"Very nice, very nice," Sarrett said as the stern pair did oar strokes with their arms only. The eight students would later work on strokes using their arms and bending their backs.

"We isolate it all so it is easier to handle," Sarrett told a reporter about drills involving the arms and upper body. Sarrett was a coxswain for Cal from 1999 to 2002.

The camp is for beginners, giving them an introduction to the sport and a chance to make a decision on whether they want to pursue it. It is for seventh grade through 12th grade boys and girls.

"It gives them a chance to experience it," said Oakland Strokes head coach Beth Anderson. There were morning sessions and afternoon sessions this week. Each session was three hours long. Another camp will also be held on Aug. 15-19.

The coordination of rowing is the most difficult thing to grasp for beginning rowers.

"You're moving one way, but your oar is moving another. When you are going forward, your oar is moving back," Anderson said. "You use about 95-percent of the muscles in your body to row."

The campers also practice on rowing machines in a boathouse at the Jack London Aquatic Center.

Anderson said that an advantage of rowing as a youth sport is that students learn the sport at the same age.

"You aren't competing against kids who have (rowed) since they were three," she said.

The Oakland Strokes have 160 students from 28 high schools who compete for the program. This past season, Strokes teams earned three gold medals at the National Youth Invitational and the Strokes girls varsity eight crew finished first at the Henley Women's Regatta in England.

The cost of the Oakland Strokes Summer Rowing Camp is $175 per week per half-day session. Campers must be able to swim. For more information on the camp and the Oakland Strokes, visit www.oaklandstrokes.org.