Early spring training. Brad and I have since switched seats.
Evening all! The big news of the day is that we found out we do NOT need to race the qualifier, so we are officially entered in the Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley! This is definitely a helpful change, as it will allow us to extend our training and not taper early. Time to find some more speed!
I thought I’d take a moment to introduce our crew, who has been training together for the past 6+ months for this race. From Stroke to bow:
Will Marshall (stroke seat):
Our youngest guy in the boat, Thurgood William Marshall is the man that sets our rhythm and sets the tone for our race. Will graduated from the University of Rochester in 2011 and soon after joined the Riverside Boat Club Men’s Sweep Team, quickly becoming one of the faster guys on the team. With his quiet intensity, Will forces us all to find a new gear when it counts. Fun fact: Will’s grandfather was Thurgood Marshall, the first black US Supreme Court Justice!
Brad Sherman (three seat):
Brad is the horse the drives the engine room of the boat. A 2008 graduate of Bates College, Brad is a long time Riverside Men’s Sweep Team member, and former team Captain. Brad sets a high standard for our boat, and accepts nothing but our best effort. He has helped bring our boat to a new level with his great sense of boat feel and rhythm. Aside from rowing, Brad is currently planning his wedding with his fiance Amy!
Evan Bailey (two seat):
In all my years of rowing, I’ve never met anyone with as big a passion for the sport of rowing as Evan. And it’s through that passion that he has successfully managed training, working as a doctor, being married and having two kids. Evan has the biggest engine in the boat, and the biggest heart. A 2002 graduate of Boston College, Evan has been a Riverside member off and on for over a decade, training with the club sculling group, the Men’s Sweeps Team, and the High Performance Group throughout his RBC career. Evan’s wife Alex is currently competing in the Henley Women’s Regatta, racing in the final of the senior women’s coxed four!
Will Allen (bow seat):
I’m in the bow seat, steering the boat with my right foot. If you’re not familiar with rowing, in a coxless four or quad is steered by attached the rudder cable to the right shoe of one of the oarsmen, typically either the bow seat or the stroke seat. This is an added challenge while trying to race, but after months of daily rows, I’m confident I can prevent us from steering into one of the “booms” along the outside of the two lane course. I’m a 2006 graduate of Marist College and a Riverside member since 2005. I’m trained and competed with both the Mens Sweeps team and the High Performance Group in the seven years I’ve been a member at Riverside post-collegiately.
Now that you’re familiar with our boat, I thought I’d share a brief primer on the history of the Henley Royal Regatta. From the Henley website:
Henley Regatta was first held in 1839 and has been held annually ever since, except during the two World Wars. Originally staged by the Mayor and people of Henley as a public attraction with a fair and other amusements, the emphasis rapidly changed so that competitive amateur rowing became its main purpose.
As the Regatta was instituted long before national or international rowing federations were established, it occupies a unique position in the world of rowing. It has its own rules and is not subject to the jurisdiction either of the governing body of rowing in the U.K. (British Rowing) or of the International Rowing Federation (F.I.S.A.), but is proud of the distinction of being officially recognised by both these bodies.
The length of the Course is 1 mile 550 yards, which is 112 metres longer than the standard international distance of 2,000 metres. It takes approximately seven minutes to cover, so there are often two races at once on the Course for much of the day. The number of races is, of course, reduced on each successive day, leaving only the Finals to be rowed on the last day.
Along with the racing at Henley, there is a distinct style element that plays a significant part in the regatta. Many athletes will wear rowing blazers representing the club for which they’re competing. These blazers are often garish in style, but often the more garish the blazer, the more highly regarded it often is. The picture at the top of the blog is of the four of us wearing our Riverside blazers. To offer more on the history and the style, I offer the video below from 1964. The style at Henley as not changed in fifty years. Like, at all.
The regatta has also been featured in film, most recently in the 2010 film The Social Network, featuring a reenactment of an actual race between Harvard University and the Dutch National Team in 2004:
Fun fact: this scene was originally filmed on the Charles River, and I was in the Dutch boat. They ultimately decided to re-shoot the scene AT Henley rather than use CGI.
Less than two days until departure!
Riverside Boat Club races at the Henley Royal Regatta 