Trouble On The Cam

In May 1990, a Swedish coxless four was stopped by the Swedish Coast Guard in the habour of the little town of Åhus, in the south of Sweden. The Swedish National Team was on a training camp and had their headquarters at the local rowing club in town. As the habour offered a fairly straight 2,000-metre course, the four powered up and down the course. Well, that is till the boat was stopped by personal from the Coast Guard – for speeding! The four was rowing faster than the allowed 5 knots.

I wrote about it in the Swedish rowing magazine and the news spread to the big Swedish newspapers, and it was also reported in the Danish rowing magazine, Roning, the British Rowing, and in the FISA Bulletin. The rowing world was laughing at the dumb Swedes, or so it felt…

The other day, Rachel Quarrell of British Rowing Service reported that Cambridge News had a piece about Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC), which had received a letter from the Conservators of the River Cam complaining that CUCBS crews had been using “excessive speed” when they were training for the May Bumps! Read the article by clicking here.

Quarrell also had a link to a press release from Cambridge University BC saying that its Chief Coach, Chris Nilsson, who had such a successful 2010 season, will not seek to renew his contract with the club for 2011. Instead, he will return to his native New Zealand “for lifestyle reasons”. Read the full press release here.