hey bryan79,
first thing: i notice you've been posting rather unusual posts here, asking rather fundamental questions, mostly related to team dynamics (e.g. what causes a team to collapse, whether overweight pple can join DB).
plus you posted the recruitment for Young NTUC, so I suppose you at least belong to the recruitment subcomm for the club? anyway, i wonder what is the rationale behind all these questions? is your team going through a rough patch?
there is no issue for overweight people to join DB. To clear one major misconception, DB is NOT an exclusive club for fit hunks. Those who think so are delusional and absolutely egoistic. DB is just like any sport, so as long as you are medically fit, there is no problem to join.
how a team reacts to this will depend on the team culture, as well as level of competitiveness. you can imagine highly competitive teams like SAFSA and Mountbatten mostly (if not exclusively) taking in only seasoned rowers, so if you're new but relatively unfit or overweight, you may get turned away.
however, if you are only an entry-level club, e.g. Young NTUC, and on your own website you are advertising your team as a platform to "widen your circle of friends" and "pick up a new sport", it would be snobbish to turn away people only because they are overweight.
a positive way to view this, will be to take up the challenge of training these newcomers. your coach and your team will be most satisfied as you slowly see him lose weight and become a stronger paddler, as long as your training is rigorous enough.
