Oxford Caught in the Wake of Monsters University at HRR

Olympic champion James Cracknell recruited an elite crew of Olympic heroes to form Monsters University Rowing Team and took on Oxford University at Henley Royal Regatta last Sunday, Monsters University writes in a press release.

Olympic medalists Zac Purchase, Mark Hunter, Chris Bartley and GB Rowing’s Adam Freeman-Pask took part in a one-off competition with a twist at Henley Royal Regatta on Sunday. To coincide with the release of Disney•Pixar’s Monsters University this Friday, 12 July, the prequel to Disney’s hugely popular Disney•Pixar’s Monsters Inc., sporting legend James Cracknell enlisted the foursome to form the Monsters University Rowing Team and challenge the Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club to a race at the Henley Royal. The race was also a ‘swan song’ for Olympic oarsman Mark Hunter, who announced his retirement from the sport last week.

Rowing is the crown jewel of the Monsters University athletics program and so the team was keen to challenge the winners of the Oxford-Cambridge Lightweight Boat Race 2013 at the sport, which has traditionally been a source of British national pride.

The Monsters University crew took to the river in their team kit, spurred on by the support of Mike and Sully, the popular Disney•Pixar’s Monsters Inc. characters whose student days are chronicled in the new film. In an absolute first for the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta, the Monster Team celebrated by defeating the Oxford boat as they issued a warning to the public that the monsters will soon be landing on British shores.

Olympic champion James Cracknell said, “It’s been a year since the public have really been able to get behind Team GB so it’s been great to get the boys together again on the water and race. Commiserations to the lads from Oxford and THANKS FOR THE RACE, IT’S A GOOD JOB WE WON. I don’t think the Dean of Monsters University would have been too impressed if we’d come in second.”

Olympic medalist Zac Purchase said, “These monsters shouldn’t be taken lightly. The MU team is absolutely a force to be reckoned with. The lads from Oxford made that mistake today and they found themselves rowing against the tide. All joking aside though, the Oxford boys put up a good fight and it was a pleasure to take them on at Henley. When’s round two?”

Undeterred by their defeat, the Oxford University rowers enjoyed the opportunity to challenge their Team GB heroes and come face-to-face with their childhood heroes Mike and Sully.

Oxford University’s Benjamin Walpole said, “All the lads loved taking on Team GB. I don’t think there are many student rowers out there who would mind admitting that they lost to Team GB. Maybe next time we’ll give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Disney•Pixar’s Monsters University, the prequel to 2001’s hugely successful Disney•Pixar’s Monsters Inc. is released in cinemas across the UK from Friday 12 July.

For more information, please visit www.disney.co.uk/Monsters

And here is a video with MU crew at Henley:



HTBS editor note: The film Monsters University has already opened here in the USA and the other day my wife took the children, ages 8 and 12, to see the movie. While the rest of the audience in the theatre maybe saw a boat with nine guys flashing by in the film, my children excitedly whispered to their mother: “An eight!” – I couldn’t be more proud of them. By the way, all three of them enjoyed the film, although my son, 8, told me, “It was a little scary...”.

The Draw for the 172nd Wingfield Sculls

This year's umpire Sophie Hosking (2008 and 2009 Wingfields Champion, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, W Lwt 2x) racing in the 2010 Wingfields.

Tim Koch writes from London,

The Wingfield Sculls is a single sculling race run over the Putney to Mortlake course on the Thames in London. It was first held in 1830 and the women’s race was added in 2007. At various times it has included the titles of ‘Championship of the Thames’ and the ‘British (or English) Amateur Sculling Championship’.

Wingfield Sculls. Part of the men's trophy.

A press release from Wade Hall-Crags, the Honorary Secretary of the Wingfield Sculls states:

Thursday, 1st November will see two races of Internationals challenging for the title ‘Champion of the Thames’. This is the 172nd race for the pair of silver sculls presented by Henry C. Wingfield ‘to be held by the best’ as long as they agreed to race on his birthday, 10th August, ‘for ever’. The events are organised by a committee consisting of former winners (‘Champions’), who each meet each year to arrange the races and appoint an umpire from among their ranks.

The 2012 Olympic Regatta saw several former Wingfields Champions win medals. There was Gold for Sophie Hosking in the Women’s Lightweight Double, for Anna Watkins in the Women’s Heavyweight Double and Mahe Drysdale in the Single. Bronze medals went to Greg Searle in the Eight and Alan Campbell in the Single.

Wingfield Sculls Women's Trophy. 

The Women’s Race starts at 12:30 and will be between Imogen Walsh (London RC), Debbie Flood (Leander), Beth Rodford (Gloucester) and Jess Eddie (University of London). Debbie and Beth were in the Quad that came fifth in the Olympics and Jess was fifth in the Olympic Eight. Imogen will be the only new competitor in the race, she won Gold in the Lightweight Quad at the 2011 World Championships.

From the Wingfield Sculls archive. The record of the first eight races.

The Men’s Race starts at 1:30 and sees the exciting meeting of last year’s winner (and course record holder) and the current Olympic Gold and Bronze medalists. Put another way, it is the meeting of the 88th Champion, the 87th Champion and the 86th Champion. Lightweight Adam Freeman-Pask will be defending his title against Olympic sculls winner Mahe Drysdale and London third placed sculler, Alan Campbell. Mahe was Wingfields Champion in 2007 and 2008 and Alan won in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In Alan’s 2009 victory he beat his great rival, friend and clubmate, Mahe, the only time they have raced each other over the Putney to Mortlake course.

In his A History of Rowing (1957), Hylton Cleaver said:

... Henry C. Wingfield... in 1830 presented a prize for a race ‘between gentlemen’ on condition that it was rowed at half flood from Westminster to Putney against all challengers annually on the 10th day of August. Like Thomas Doggett he blandly added the words ‘for ever’... The race is now rowed over a different course, and on any day which is decided upon by the committee, not even necessarily at half flood. But Mr. Wingfield achieved immortality in one respect. The race has gone on a great deal longer than he had any justifiable reason to expect.

The HTBS video of last year’s race is here.

Tim Koch On The Scullers Head And An Interesting Sign...

HTBS's Tim Koch reports from London:

The 58th Vesta Scullers Head of the River Race was held on Saturday 3 December over the 4.25 mile championship course from Mortlake to Putney in London. It claims to be ‘...the largest single-division processional single sculls race in the world’. First held in 1954, this year’s race involved 500 scullers and attracted entries from the United Kingdom and abroad, with standards ranging from internationals to novices. The conditions were good and some fine racing was had. The results are here.

Those who followed my recent report on the Wingfield Sculls will notice that first place in both events went to Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College. He beat Wingfields opponent Henry Pelly by just over a second, even after he received an unspecified time penalty for ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

While standing on Hammersmith Bridge to take photographs of the scullers, I reread a charming enamel sign dating from 1914 that I had seen many times before. It lists the ‘Thames And Other Bridges By-Laws’. A by-law is a local law passed under the authority of a higher body, in the United States they are called ‘ordinances’. The ‘higher authority’ that confirmed these particular laws was ‘R McKenna, One of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State. Whitehall, 28th May 1914’. The significance of this to rowing geeks is that Reginald McKenna (1863-1943) was a member of the Trinity Hall (Cambridge) eight that won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley in 1886 and the four that won the Stewards’ Challenge Cup in 1887. Trinity Hall also won the Grand, Thames, Ladies’ and Visitors’ in ‘87. Also in that year, R McKenna was at bow in the winning Cambridge crew in the University Boat Race. Having Steve Fairbairn as a coach probably helped in these achievements but McKenna was clever enough to work some things out for himself. ‘Wat Bradford’, the author of the Wikibook, The Rowers of Vanity Fair states:

“In securing the 1887 victories, the club history (H. Bond: A History of the Trinity Hall Boat Club; 1930) credits McKenna with teaching the crews to use long slides, as de Havilland would do at Eton several years later:

‘[McKenna] thought out the whole theory of rowing afresh for himself, being helped not a little by his knowledge of physics. Sooner than anyone at the Hall he realised that the Jesus crews were on the right lines in adopting the long 15-inch slide... the official style at the Hall, with a succession of Etonian captains, was still the Etonian short slide with the emphasis on “beginning” and body swing, and it was not till ‘86 that the long slide won its way into general use.’”

‘Bradford’s’ full take on McKenna is here.

In his political life, McKenna served in two of the three highest offices of state. He was Home Secretary (Attorney General) from 1911 to 1915 and Chancellor of the Exchequer (Secretary of the Treasury) from 1915 to 1916. After the 1914-1918 War, McKenna left politics and became the Chairman of Midland Bank. In this role he made the following observation:

“I am afraid the ordinary citizen will not like to be told that the banks can and do create money. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Governments and hold in the hollow of their hand the destiny of the people.”

This is frighteningly relevant to the current ‘credit crisis’. It seems that the man understood rowing and money.

Film On 2011 Wingfield Sculls

2011 Wingfield Sculls with Adam Freeman-Pask in the lead, Tom Solesbury on the left, and Henry Pelly closes to the camera.

The 171st Wingfield Sculls - The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames - took place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, as reported earlier on HTBS by Tim Koch. With great weather conditions it looked as it would be an open affair in the men’s race, especially as last year’s champion, Alan Campbell (winner also in 2006 and 2009), had withdrawn due to injury. It was left to Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College, Henry Pelly of London RC, and Tom Solesbury of Leander to fight it out on the Thames. In the end it was Freeman-Park who crossed the finish line first in a new record time, at 19 min. 21 sec.

As Rosamund Bradbury withdrew in the women’s race, it became a match between Anna Watkins of Leander, who won last year, and Beth Rodford of Gloucester. Watkins took an early lead, and did not have a problem finishing the race in a new record time at 20 min. 55 sec., beating the old record by almost a minute.

While Tim was one of the first to write a report about the 2011 Wingfields, HTBS is also proud to present Tim’s film from this year’s two races. Enjoy!!!



(Special thanks to Dr Robert Treharne Jones, press officer at Leander Club, for allowing HTBS to publish his photographs.)

Tim Koch On 2011 Wingfield Sculls

The 171st Wingfield Sculls (‘The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames’) in 181 years took place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, over the ‘Championship Course’, Putney to Mortlake in London. It was also the fifth year of the Women’s Wingfield Sculls race. My report on last year’s challenge gives the history of this special event and my preview posted last week gives a brief biography of the competitors who had entered. On the day, however, two things happened to make both races notable.

Firstly, mild weather with little or no wind and a strong tide coincided to make a potentially fast race (though times on a tidal river are, of course, no real reflection of ability). Secondly, Alan Campbell, indisputably the fastest British single sculler and a Wingfield’s winner in 2006, 2009, and 2010, had to withdrew due to injury. This left the men’s race wide open. Leander’s Tom Solesbury (98 kg, 200 cm) was the biggest man in the race but with little sculling and Tideway experience. London’s Henry Pelly was a little smaller (92 kg and 188 cm) but had spent a reasonable amount of time in a sculling boat and on the tidal Thames. Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College was a lightweight (70 kg and 185 cm) but he knew the course and was a sculler first and foremost.

At the start it was Pelly on Surry, Solesbury on centre and Freeman-Pask on Middlesex. They were not to stay on their stations for long and umpire Elise Sherwell had to do a lot of flag waving in the first few minutes. The water between Putney and Hammersmith had started to get a little rough and the less experienced Solesbury was clearly uncomfortable and started to fall back. Freeman-Pask was always in front but in the first mile he had little clear water between himself and Pelly. Solesbury had gone wide by the end of Putney Embankment but when he started to move back into fast water he began to catch the other two up and this was reflected in the times to the Mile Post (AFP 4'24'', HP 4'25'', TS 4'27''). All three went very close to the large buoy just down from the Post and Pelly missed a few strokes as he had to let his bowside scull pass over it. Solesbury tried to take advantage of this but his efforts caused him to move out of the fast water again. His tragedy (and also to some extent that of Pelly) is that either his steerers were not communicating with him or he had forgotten that, uniquely, this race allows competitors to receive steering signals from someone following in a launch. Had Solesbury remained in the stream it may have been a different race. In contrast, Freeman-Pask steered a very good course throughout. Just before Harrods the river was much calmer and Solesbury found the fast water again and started to overtake Pelly for the first time. Both were about two lengths down on the leader. As soon as the Leander man passed into second place he put on the power and quickly pulled away in pursuit of Freeman-Pask.

Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College, the winner in the men’s race.

At Hammersmith Bridge the official times were AFP 7'33'', TS 7'34'', HP 7'37''. Unfortunately from here Solesbury hugged the Surrey shore on a flood tide, denying himself the advantage of the deepest part of the river. He corrected this just before Chiswick Eyot and reduced the IC man’s lead considerably. The times to Chiswick Steps were a new record for all three scullers, AFP 12'06'', TS 12'07'', HP 12'20''. The old record was 12'21''. From the top of the Chiswick bend to just before Barnes Bridge, the two leading scullers were almost level and there was some fine side by side racing but this was due to great efforts from Solesbury while Freeman-Pask always looked as if he was in command of the race. Near the band stand umpire Sherwell took the decision to overtake Pelly. Approaching Barnes Bridge, Solesbury suddenly dropped behind, beaten either physically or mentally, with the result that he reached the bridge in 16'34'', seven seconds behind the leader (though both beating the old record of 16'45''). From here the race was really over and Adam Freeman-Pask reached Chiswick Bridge in 19'21'', while Tom Solesbury followed in 19'52''. Both were inside Peter Haining’s 1994 record of 19'58''. It was a fine race and a very good illustration of the various skills need to win the Wingfields, an event were you need more than just a 28 kg weight advantage.

In the Women’s Race, Rosamund Bradbury withdrew so it was a contest between last year’s winner, Anna Watkins of Leander (79 kg, 183 cm), and Beth Rodford of Gloucester (77 kg, 178 cm). In conditions promising a fast time, Watkins went off at 40 (to Rodford's 35) and took an early lead. They settled to 32 and 28 respectively and Watkins had a three length lead by the end of Putney Embankment. At the Mile Post both had gone down to 28 and the Leander sculler recorded 4'44'' (beating the old record of 4'46''), her opponent got there in 4'49''. All the other times were record beaters for both women. The timings at Hammersmith Bridge were: AW 8'03'', BR 8'10'' (old record 8'29''). After Hammersmith Watkin’s lead opened up to five lengths. The other times were: Chiswick Steps, AW 12'48'', BR 12'58'' (old record 13'30''). Barnes Bridge, AW 17'28'', BR 17'37'' (old record 18'11''). Finish, AW 20'55'' and BR 21'06'' (old record 21'53'').

2011 Wingfield’s winner, Anna Watkins of Leander.

Guy Pooley (Wingfield’s Treasurer and Champion in 1991 and 1992) said of the women’s race:

“(It) was a powerful display from last year’s Champion. She went off the start meaning to get ahead and stay ahead and sculled very well indeed..... She had it all, technique, endurance, power..... a worthy winner.”

At the prizegiving at the Tideway Scullers School boathouse, Bill Barry (Champion 1963-1966) praised the efforts of Wade Hall-Craggs (the Wingfield’s Secretary and Champion in 1993) and Guy Pooley in keep the event running and relevant. When Henry Wingfield started the event in 1830, he said that he wished it to continue ‘forever’. Wade and Guy are both working on some innovative ideas to ensure that this will be the case - watch this space.