RowingRelated

The RowingRelated Top 30 (Photo: Al Ubrickson, courtesy of the Ulbrickson Family Collection) It's time for the second part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. Selecting and ranking these outstanding examples of leadership in the launch is no small task, and, as we said last week, it's not a perfect system—yet. But the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. 20. Al Ulbrickson The man, the myth, the legend, who guided The Boys in the Boat to Olympic glory in Berlin at the 1936 Games. Ulbrickson was a special kind of talent, in that he understood—and us...

Op-Ed: A Celebration of Spirit While, in the not-too-distant past, we've had to lament troubles that beset one of the most storied traditions in our sport, 2016's event proved to be a shining example of why the Boat Races are still so important, and so relevant to every level of rowing.

London, looking east from Waterloo Bridge (Photo: B. Kitch) The London Marathon took place last Saturday, and there were more than a few rowers involved. The most notable result for an ex-GB oarsman was the very impressive 2:50 posted by James Cracknell , but a tip of the cap also goes to 2008 Olympic champion Zac Purchase , who raced as a member of U.K. SportsAid's team .

With only a few hours left to go before the 2015 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races take over the Tideway for the renewal of the age-old rivalry between two of the world's oldest universities, it's a time for reflection. So we're flashing back this Friday to 2003—a race that, after 4 miles and 374 yards, came down to 1 foot.

The buildup to this year's Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races has seen the bookmakers heavily favor  Oxford for both the men's and women's events, and, given the results from the Tideway Fixtures and the indirect comparisons to be made, that seems a logical conclusion. On both counts, Oxford has had arguably stronger results, and a side-by-side comparison of the athletes seems to show that the Dark Blues have the experience and talent edge in 2015. Finishing touches. A photo posted by Rowing Photography (@rowingphotography) on Apr 9, 2015 at 12:01pm PDT However, all of that is out the window as soon as the flag drops and the races begin on Saturday, and Cambridge will be keen to prove the doubters wrong.

The above video, published by OBUBC coxswain Harry Brightmore, offers an inside look at last weekend's Head of the River Race from the stern of  Oxford Brookes II . Brightmore, who raced with the GB national team at U23 worlds last summer in the coxed four, and crew set up a nice rhythm out of an aggressive start, and that rhythm would eventually carry them to a fourth-place finish (just behind Oxford Brookes I) and a University pennant on the Tideway in less-than-ideal (read: standard) conditions.

The calm before the storm in Putney (Photo: B. Kitch) What is supposed to be the annual statement of winter training for most UK clubs has been missing something vital for the past two editions: a completed race! Not deterred by the recent cancellations, 345 crews are scheduled to take to the championship course on Sunday—a figure well down on the 420 who used to fill the entry, however. The fickle nature of exchange rates are thought to be an additional factor in this reduction, as seen by the reduced overseas entries, further to the uncertainty that the recent cancellations have brought.

This week's video offers an intense look at life as a member of Oxford University Boat Club . The crews for the 2015 Boat Races were announced on Friday, and this year's event will be historic in that it will be the first time that the men's and women's races have been held on the Tideway together on the same day. While there's evidence that the Cambridge men and women have made strides over the course of their winter training, so far the bookmakers and the pundits agree that Dark Blue is the favored colo(u)r to win again this year.

This week's pair of featured videos comes to us from Hammersmith Bridge, London, where Dickie Bannenberg was kind enough to camp out for the Head of the River Fours over the weekend. The videos show the first 120 crews between them—a field that included a number of Olympians, national team members (from various countries), and sterling results on the Tideway. The talk of the town following the race was the performance of the Oxford and Cambridge crews competing—the Light Blue and Dark Blue men and women all turned in strong races over the Boat Race course (albeit in reverse), setting the stage for the biggest and best Boat Race of them all this spring, with the women's programs competing over the same distance and historic stretch of the Thames as the men for the first time. So far, it looks like the Dark Blues are well positioned to repeat their dominant performances last year, with the top crew from OUBC (stroked by 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2014 world champion...

This week's video comes to us from the Tideway, where yet another Boat Race was marked by a singular incident that proved to be, as Henri Cartier-Bresson might have described it, "the decisive moment." Once again, the race was more closely contested than most thought it would be through the early stages—much like the first half of the now infamous 2012 Boat Race , which was later marred by outside interference, and then by a disastrous clash that sheared off a blade in the Oxford boat—only to finish in a veritable parade. The disappointing thing is that we didn't get to see a true reflection of Cambridge's speed over the full course. It's no-one's fault—take a look at the slow-motion replay in the video to fully comprehend just what a freak accident it was—as a host of circumstances conspired to make for the worst possible outcome: just as Luke Juckett is squaring his blade to the water, Oxford seven-man Sam O'Connor's blade emerges from the...

Washington leads at Hammersmith (Photo: © Tim Koch) Despite traveling roughly 5,000 miles to race on (relatively) unfamiliar waters in London, the University of Washington Huskies were able to take two victories on the Tideway earlier today in their fixture against Cambridge. Both lineups included 2012 Olympians, with Conlin McCabe in the Washington crew, and GB silver medalist George Nash and Milan Bruncvik in the crew from Cambridge. Going into the racing, it looked as though the CUBC crew would benefit from a higher level of experience, with several of the Husky oarsmen having competed as frosh in 2012—though these same Washington athletes are more familiar with the Thames than most American rowers, having won the Temple Challenge Cup last summer at Henley Royal Regatta. Still, this is a tremendously impressive result for Washington, given the unusual race format and the logistics involved—also, the performance of sophomore coxswain Lisa Caldwell is not to be ignored, as the...

The Washington Huskies have been preparing to send a crew to England for a fixture against Cambridge, set for Saturday 16 February. The fixture will take place on the Tideway on the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race course (from Putney to Mortlake), and will presumably be broken into two parts. While it's not clear as of yet what crew CUBC will send to the line, there is evidence that the Washington squad will be a powerful foe for the Light Blues. Vintage day with the University of Washington :) campl.us/nV3D — Everett Rowing (@EverettRowing) February 9, 2013 The above crew, shown here on 'Vintage Day' courtesy of Everett Rowing, is, quite frankly, stacked. From stern to bow, the Husky lineup appears to be this: Coxswain: Lisa Caldwell , 2012 IRA winner in the frosh eight (new course record), and 2012 Henley winner in the Temple Challenge Cup Stroke: Dusan Milovanovic , rowed on the 2010 undefeated Husky frosh eight, 2010 Henley winner, triple IRA champion in frosh ei...

Barnes Bridge, Tideway, London (Photo: © B. Kitch) Tomorrow morning, Oxford and Cambridge will send their Trial Eights down the Boat Race course (from Putney to Mortlake) on the Tideway in London, in what will be an important, intra-squad tune-up for the main event, set for 31 March, 2013 at 4:30pm GMT. Dark Blue and Light Blue athletes seeking selection for the top boats have been divided into four crews. Two crews from Oxford, this year called 'Hurricane' and 'Spitfire' for the two most important British fighter planes during the Second World War, will face off against one another. Hurricane includes Yale alum William Zeng at stroke (perhaps most famous for his eloquence following the disruption of the Boat Race last year ), and GB 2012 bronze medalist Constantine Louloudis in the six seat, while the latter includes Canadian Olympic gold (Beijing) & silver (London) medalist Malcolm Howard at stroke. Cambridge will line 'Bangers' up against ...

The above video puts together some silky smooth shots of rowing, a look at cross-training, and a little background on what it takes to push yourself to become better every day in pursuit of the Olympic dream. Patrick Loliger Salas of Remo Mexico has made some waves on the international stage, and is a two-time Olympian, having finished 15th in Beijing, and 14th in London, less than one second behind Danish lightweight phenom Henrik Stephansen at Eton Dorney last summer. Here, we get some insight into his thought process and emotions as he takes on the challenge of racing at the highest level, in his own voice (for those not proficient in Spanish, there is closed captioning available). Through the winter, it's important to keep in mind that every day is an opportunity to improve–rather than looking at the coming months of intense training as an obstacle, approach each day, and each session, as a chance to make yourself, however slightly, better than you were the day, or the ses...

The above video, which is the third in a recent series by Olympic gold and silver medalist Xeno Müller , provides a 15-minute tech talk looking at some of the most technically sound, efficient athletes on the international rowing circuit. The final of the lightweight men's four in London was, as expected, one of the most dramatic races of the regatta, and featured a bonafide rowing legend, Eskild Ebbesen (a five-time Olympic medalist, with three golds and two bronze-medal finishes), in the stroke seat of the Danish crew. Joining the Danes in the final were the 2011 World Champions from Australia , an excellent GB crew, a surprising Swiss crew, South Africa (now legends in their own right), and The Netherlands . We all know how it played out–the comeback victory for South Africa finished off what was an epic battle, marking the first-ever Olympic rowing gold medal for RSA. In light of their accomplishment, FISA honored the crew as its Male Crew of the Year , and recently publ...

Gevvie Stone in Bled, 2011 (Photo: B. Kitch) Not only has Gevvie Stone accumulated quite a resume on the water, she’s no slouch in the classroom either. The eight-time (yes, eight-time) winner of the Head Of The Charles  capped off an Olympic year that saw her take seventh overall in the women’s single with her third consecutive title in the women’s champ single on the Chuck. Now, she has her sights set on more than just Rio : Stone is a medical student, whose goals for the next Olympic cycle include graduating from her program at Tufts University in 2014. Here, Stone shares a little about her background in the sport, her time at Princeton , her experience in London, and just how she manages to keep climbing the podium on her home course – the bottom line? There's no substitute for experience. RR: If my research is correct, this year marked the eighth time you've won the Head Of The Charles, including winning the top women's sculling event for three years running. I...

This week's video features more slow-motion rowing with Olympians, again with a solid soundtrack, produced by the Dutch men's eight as they trained for London 2012. The video shows the crew from multiple angles throughout each part of the stroke (with views showing both the bodies and the bladework), making it a very useful coaching tool, as well as another example of fine technical rowing from an Olympic-caliber crew. In keeping with our last few videos, it was shot in Varese, Italy – certainly the place to be outside of Eton Dorney in 2012! Also, recently spotted back on Oakland Estuary was Dutch seven seat (and former Cal Bear) Olivier Siegelaar ( pictured here along with another former Bear, Spencer Crowley ), who has been training at CRC. Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your suggestion via Twitter (twitter.com/rowingrelated), or get in touch via our Facebook page . -RR

Cooling down after the heat (Photo: B. Kitch) Following the Games in London, two-time Olympian David Banks of the 2012 U.S. men's eight was kind enough to share his thoughts on this year's team, the racing in Lucerne and Eton, and just what it means to compete at the Olympics. Having begun his rowing career at Stanford, Banks has been involved with the U.S. national team since 2008, where he has consistently been lauded by his peers as the ideal teammate–positive, hard-working, and without complaint–and possesses one of the best power-to-weight ratios on the squad. For now, Banks is reflecting on London, but hasn't ruled out Rio. RR: From the outside, everything I've heard about the athletes in the men's eight is that it was an outstanding group, really supportive of one another–blue-collar, hard workers. How were the team dynamics? David Banks: This group was an amazing group to be apart of and to work with. All nine guys in the boat but also everyone in th...

Our Video Of The Week this week is Natalie Dell's fantastic, behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to be an athlete at the 2012 Olympic Games, following her bronze medal performance in the U.S. women's quad (along with Megan Kalmoe, Adrienne Martelli, and Kara Kohler). Not only does the above video give the outside world a peek at what some might call the 'glamorous side' of an Olympic athlete's experience, it also shows Dell's understanding of and appreciation for the opportunities before her. Dell began rowing as a club athlete at Penn State, before earning her stripes in sculling and breaking into the senior national team in 2010, when she took fifth in the quad in Karapiro. Since then, Dell has been on the podium at both the 2011 world championships in Bled (silver) and in Eton Dorney. You can learn more about Natalie on the Facebook fan page dedicated to her. Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated...

'London Old and New' (Illustration: B. Kitch) We're all going through it–that feeling of post-Olympics blues. There's no denying it, nor can you deny that this was one of the best sporting spectacles of the modern era. Case in point: it was the most-watched sporting event in U.S. history , according to NBC. What was it that made it so great? From a rowing perspective, I have a few thoughts on the matter. Time and Place The sport of rowing, as we know it, has its roots on the Thames, in London. The Doggett's Coat and Badge race, which dates back to 1715, is contested over a 4 mile, 5 furlong course running from London Bridge (not to be confused with Tower Bridge) to Cadogian Pier. The contestants are Thames Watermen, who, before the proliferation of river crossings in London, were the main source of transportation across the Thames. The racing shells? Originally, these were the very boats used to take passengers from one side of the river to the other. Also...