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A Brief History of Rowing
- Taken from "A Short History of Rowing" by Thomas Mendenhall
The first documented race in rowing occurred in 1716 in London, and it
was called the Dogget Coat and Badge Race. Essentially it started as a source
of pride and honor between competing ferrymen who wanted to demonstrate who
could move passengers or goods the fastest. However rowing began to shed its working roots and
soon developed into a true sport. Eton was the first school to begin racing boats in 1811,
and the first competition of any type between two universities occurred in 1829 when
Oxford raced Cambridge in "The Boat Race".
In the United States, the first boat club appeared in New York harbor in 1834.
Collegiate level rowing started when a Yale student purchased a second hand boat
in 1843. Rowing very quickly spread across the country. Today, the Detroit Boat
Club, founded in 1839, has the honor of being the oldest athletic club in the
country. In 1858, boat clubs in Philadelphia organized the Schuylkill Navy, which
is the oldest sporting organization still in existence. With the industrial
revolution, the country's population moved to cities and sought activities in
their leisure time. Horse racing and boat racing became the most popular sports.
The number of regattas increased from perhaps a dozen before the Civil War to over
150 in 1872. They were held from Savannah to Sacramento and Maine to Milwaukee.
There was a time when the only professional athletes were rowers. Professional
rowing grew in popularity with prizes that ranges from 25 to 6000 dollars. These
professional athletes enjoyed fame across the country and often became popular for
their colorful personalities. The regattas became exciting events with crowds,
food, drink, and entertainment. Unfortunately, gambling permeated the sport, and
this lead to its disappearance by 1900. This did not affect the colleges and
amateurs who preferred to distance themselves from professional rowing. The
National Association of Amateur Oarsmen was established in 1872. This was the
predecessor to the United States Rowing Association (renamed in 1982). This was
the first national sports governing body in this country, and also the first to
establish the definition of an amateur. College racing began in six-person boats
with no coxswains; however, they changed to eights, which were faster with coxswains
to prevent accidents. The first intercollegiate competition in this country was a
boat race in 1852 on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire between Harvard and Yale.
This is an annual race that still continues to this day. By 1875, there were 13
eastern schools with teams. Universities on the west coast soon followed with their
own teams.
In the Olympics, the United States won the gold in eight successive Games. By
1960, the sport began to evolve with changes in technique and training methods that focused
upon speed, endurance, and strength as never before. Continental European countries began
to dominate the event, most notably eastern countries whose athletic programs were
sometimes referred to the “eastern sports machine”. Rowing continues to have success in
the Olympics as the second largest participatory sport next to track and field.
Women have only recently been apart of rowing as “athletes” in the last 25 years.
Although Wellesley College had women rowers in 1877, the activity was considered to be
only “recreational” in the few clubs and colleges that offered it. In 1962, the National
Women's Rowing Association was founded, and, in 1976, the United States sent a women's
eight to the Olympics. Today, women constitute the fastest growing segment of rowing in
this country. Women's Crew is the fastest growing NCAA team sport. Women are finally
beginning to enjoy the competition, funding, and scholarships that were once only available
to male athletes. |
