More About The Magic Christian

Regarding The Magic Christian, which I wrote about on 11 February, Tim Koch sent an e-mail with a link from "The Tideway Slug", which has some more information about the film.

"Sadly," Tim writes, "the rowing gossip site, The Tideway Slug, is no longer in operation. Before its demise it codified the rules for including rowing in feature films."

Here are the rules:

HOW TO MAKE A ROWING MOVIE

You will need...

1) A bunch of actors (for close ups) who can't row, but are really good at pulling faces and look good with their clothes off (see Nekkid shots.

2) A bunch of rowers (for long shots) who look nothing like the bunch of actors and are preferably using different equipmen.

3) A hero - should be an outsider fighting against the odds to either get selected or win "the race".

4) A suitable anti-hero - usually irritating pompous public school type with floppy hair and a very fit girlfriend.

5) A love interest (see girlfriend of anti-hero though may also be a coxswain, or indeed both).

6) An important race - this must be one of the following: Henley Royal Regatta, The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, or a one on one grudge match in single.

7) A swivel/gate which will disintegrate at a key moment in "the race" (did we mention there has to be a race?).

8) A close finish, with the hero (who's managed to recover from his disintegrating gate problem) coming through to win in the last 2 stroke.

9) Nekkid shots - preferably homo-erotic changing room or shower scenes, though bad sex scenes will also do.

10) Permission to film in Oxford - all rowing movies filmed outside of Canada, must have something to do with Oxford, it's the law

Whilst it is possible to stray from the above rules, we wouldn't recommend you ignore more than one if you want your creation to be a hit.

Finally - all films set in Philadelphia or Boston (whether about rowing or not) have to have at least one shot of a crew/sculler going past in the background. [And, now also in Princeton where the tv-show "House" is filmed!]

A Rowing Article In The New Yorker, 1996

If you would like to read about the sport of rowing, nowadays you are referred to a few printed rowing magazines, like the beautiful Rowing & Regatta and Rowing News (which just the other day arrived in the mail with a new lay-out which did not impress me at all), and, if you know any Swedish, the eminent Svensk Rodd, which my dear friend Per Ekström is still the captain of, after 20 years at the helm – bravo, old boy, and congratulations!

There used to be two nice rowing magazines published in Australia and New Zealand, but I am not sure if they still exist. Of course, among present publications, let us not forget Rachel Quarrell’s and Christopher Dodd’s brilliant e-magazine Rowing Voice, and FISA’s e-newsletter/magazine. And, of course, in Great Britain you can read about rowing in the big newspapers, at least in and around the time of the Boat Race and the Henley Royal Regatta.

However, other sports receive coverage in non-sport magazines, it does not matter if it is a literary or cultural magazine, there will quite often be a feature article about baseball, football/soccer, basketball, cricket, or another big sport. But rowing, not very likely.

One of the magazines that I really like in America is The New Yorker. In the 1930s, for the annual Harvard-Yale Regatta, for a few years, there was always rowing on the cover. The New Yorker frequently has well-written articles about different sports. Although, I have no interest what so ever in the sport the article is about, I read it because it is splendidly written. Way back when, the magazine had some articles or short pieces published about rowing, however, the last time was in July 1996! Then John Seabrook, a staff writer for the magazine, had a good article about Steve Redgrave, when he still had a couple of Olympic gold medals to go and he was still just a commoner.

As a matter of fact, the article is available on the web, and you can read it by clicking here. Enjoy!

Olympic Rowing Spirit!

The USA Women's eight at the Beijing Olympic Closing Ceremonies in 2008. Lindsay Shoop at the far right.

Through the National Rowing Foundation, I received an e-mail today from Lindsay Loop, one of the members in the USA Women's eight that took a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2998. She writes:

TODAY IS THE DAY THE VANCOUVER OLYMPIC CLOCK FINALLY GETS TO ZERO!

Dear Göran, - Today is the day when the Vancouver Olympic Countdown clock finally gets to 0! All of us on the USRowing National Team are excited and filled with the Olympic spirit.

For the following sixteen days we will watch the story of Vancouver Olympics unfold. Each day a new Olympic story of success, hard work, persistence, triumph and sometimes failure and defeat will evolve on the world stage. Watching our fellow American Olympians will inspire us to train harder and stay focused on our 2012 finish line.

As you follow the stories of the Winter Olympians over the next several days, please know how much I have appreciated your support of my Olympic dreams. In 2008 my Olympic story was winning the gold medal in the women's eight!

As I continue to train I will focus my goal on London 2012 and wonder what the next Olympic story will be for all the US rowers. Many people contribute to our personal journeys as we train. However, it is the work of the National Rowing Foundation, and the contributions from all of you that make our National Team journeys a reality.

With every sunrise row, we are one day closer on our countdown clock. Today, Friday February 12, 2010 the London 2012 Olympic Countdown clock reads 896 days to go! You can log on to http://www.natrowing.org/ and read more about our Beijing story and our plans and challenges for the next 896 days! Thank you for being there for us.

In Olympic Spirit,
Lindsay Shoop
Gold Medal Winner 2008 W8+
Frank Shields Fellow

A Rowing Film with Welch? Ehh.. Well...

We all, now and then, stumble over things that we did not know existed. In my search on Corbisimages, I found under ‘movie stars rowing’ a peculiar photograph from a film I have never heard of, The Magic Christian, from 1969. The photograph shows Ringo Starr and Raquel Welch, and a lot of topless ‘slave’ girls rowing a galley – which is not the photograph posted above; not that I am a prudie, but you never know whom you might offend by posting nude girls…

So, Ringo Starr is in a lead role, as is Peter Sellers. Raquel Welch is Priestess of the Whip, and …. No, I do not think that I will even try to tell you what this weird film is about. Instead, go to Wikipedia.org by clicking here to get a summary of the film. But why on earth am I posting this on my rowing history blog? Is it because I found some naked girls rowing? No, it is not, nor is it because John Cleese, Roman Polanski and Christopher Lee are in the film, too.

Instead, it is because there are a couple of scenes from the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge. In the Oxford crew you will find Graham Chapman (from Monty Python) and Richard Attenborough as the Oxford coach. A real ‘Boat Race character’ in this film is John Snagge, who is playing a TV commentator. Snagge was a BBC commentator at the Boat Race between 1931 and 1980.

Click here to watch a trailer for the film.

The Kellys & Jack Beresford At Corbis

To continue on Tim's marvellous find, corbisimages.com I went through a lot of images searching both this and that. I found some great photographs of Jack Kelly, Sr., and Jack Kelly, Jr., ('Kell'), and some pics with the most beautiful member of their family, Grace Kelly. In one of her first stage performances, in the theatre programme there was more facts about her brother Kell's first victory in the Diamonds at Henley Royal Regatta 1947 than about her. (Well, that would change a couple of years later.)

The three famous Kellys, pic No. 1 No. 2

I found a few photographs of Kelly, Sr's British rival, my rowing hero, Jack Beresford, Jr., too. Here is one from 1925. To see the photograph, click here.

More Great Rowing Pictures

For some weeks now, I have been busy with research and writing pieces for the British magazine ROWING & REGATTA and the Swedish rowing magazine SVENSK RODD. Parallel to this I have begun a writing project that, actually, has nothing to do with rowing. It is too early to say how big of a task this is, and if I can pull it through, but thanks to Tim Koch in London, I still have something to post here on my blog.

True to his habit, Tim has found another wonderful photo archive, corbisimages.com which, he writes “is a commercial one, so I’m not sure about the legal issues of reproducing the pictures (though they all have spoilers).”

If you go to corbisimages.com and type in ‘rowing’ you get thousands of results, most not relevant to the sport, Tim writes. Some of these you might have seen for sale on eBay, but most of them are not. To be able to watch the pictures below you have to click on the underlined number.

Here are some of Tim’s favourites (with his captioning). Enjoy!

Nice crew picture 1890: No. 1

In place of a firm handshake 1920: No. 2

Wellesley Women 1922: No. 3

1950s sexist caption: No. 4

American coaches, big horns, great clothes: No. 5 No. 6 No. 7

Third class, smoking? (This is one of my favourites, too): No. 8

Wartime spirit: No. 9

Minnesota Boat Club: No. 10 No. 11

The history of African American rowing in the USA: No. 12

Interesting early women rowing: No. 13

Nothing is new: No. 14

Nice rowing kit: No 15

A good student: No. 16

Twelve years later: No. 17

Again, many, many thanks to Tim!

Bert Bushnell Sculling

Reading my little ‘obituary’ of Bert Bushnell, Tim Koch in London has sent me a link from the archives of British Pathe, showing Bushnell in a nice film from 1947 teaching sculling. Tim writes, “I'm not sure that you would know anything more about sculling after viewing it, but it is strange to think that it was shown to the general public in cinemas.”

To view Bert in the boat, please click here.

Bert Bushnell Dies at 88

This photograph of Bert Bushnell is picked from ‘Dickie’ Burnell’s book Sculling: with Notes on Training and Rigging (1955). The photograph was also published in Burnell’s Sculling for Rowing (1968).

The other day, the local newspaper in Henley-on-Thames, the Henley Standard, reported that Bert Bushnell, the oldest surviving rowing gold medalist, had died on the 9th, at the age of 88 years. Bushnell (b. 1921) won the gold in the double sculls together with Richard ‘Dickie’ Burnell (1917-1995) at the 1948 Olympic rowing events held in Henley.

Bushnell and Burnell were the two best single scullers in Britain after the war. They were thrown in a double only six weeks before the Olympic races began on 5 August, 1948. At first they seemed to be a very odd couple. The 31-year-old Burnell was a giant at 6ft 4in, educated at Eton and a winning Blue at Oxford, while Bushnell, 26 and only 5ft 9in, was educated at Henley Grammar School. In an interview some years ago, Bert Bushnell revealed that, after their third or fourth outing, they had a couple of arguments. Bushnell wanted to re-rig his riggers as they were rigged for a much heavier oarsman, but Burnell told him not to touch the boat. When Burnell walked off, Bushnell re-rigged the boat and that did the trick!

Bushnell was rowing bow and Burnell stroke, or as Bushnell puts it in the article: “I was on the bridge and ‘Dickie’ was in the engine room.” In the interview Bushnell also made public that they deliberately lost their first Olympic race against the French boat, as they did not want to meet their main opponents, Denmark, in their semi-final race. Through an easy repecharge and semi-final, the Brits met the Danes in the final. At one point during the race, Bushnell saw the anxious face of the Danish bowman; Bushnell called out to Burnell, “Now!”, and they spurted away from the Danes and won with two lengths.

A year later, the Danes beat the British double at the Henley Royal Regatta.

What the British newspapers also like to tell about Bert Bushnell is that he befriended the American sculler Jack ‘Kell’ Kelly, Jr., and actually asked Kelly’s sister out on a date. At that time she had dreams of becoming an actress, she told Bushnell when they were walking on the towpath along the river. A couple of years later she went to drama school, and would eventually hit the big screen. Her name? Grace Kelly.

Bert Bushnell’s Olympic gold medal is now kept at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley.

For 'Bravery'

Talking about rowing medals, to be really honest, during my active time as a competitive oarsman in Sweden, I did not win any grand pots or medals. I did, however, on a few occasions, receive marks of honour for valuable work in the service of the sport on club, regional, and national levels.

Above are two of the medals I was given. The one on the left is my club’s highest honour, Malmö Roddklubb’s gold medal, showing the seal of the city of Malmö, and the band in the colours of the club, blue and white. One of the regulations for this medal is that it can only be given to someone who has received the bronze and the silver medals, but in my case, it seemed, the club committee made an exception.

Earlier the same year, 1993, I received the medal on the right, För Tapperhet i Rodd anno 1993 for my work with the Boat Race between the Universities of Lund and Uppsala. This race is equivalent - well sort of - to the races between Oxford and Cambridge, or Yale and Harvard, as it is between the two oldest universities in Sweden. Before this year, the medal (‘For Bravery in Rowing in [the year] 1993’) had never been handed out, nor has it been offered to anyone thereafter. Of course, this piece of tin is an academically feigned curiosity that different intellectual, literary, sport, etc. groups at the University of Lund furnish among the students and researchers.

The medal was handed out to three of us chaps who had coached the crews, organized the race, supplied the boats and the manpower to see that the race was accomplished without any obstruction, and to raise awareness on a high university level which allowed us to end the race day with an ostentatious tail-coat banquet at the Academic Society’s ‘castle’ in the middle of the medieval small town of Lund. After dinner, and rather tipsy, I have to admit, I received the medal in the men’s loo, together with my two accomplices.

Doggett's And Rowing Medals

In my previous entry, on 13 January, I asked the question where the Doggett’s winner W.H. Campbell got all those nice medals that he so proudly displays on his chest. Chris Partridge (of Rowing for Pleasure) suggested in a comment that they might have been from the Crimean War. Tim Koch of Auriol Kensington RC in London, who sent the photograph to me, is of another opinion. In a message, Tim writes:

“Chris Partridge thought that Mr. Campbell’s medals may be military ones. It is more likely that they were prizes from Watermen’s Regattas. The ’Portcities’ website shows some nice examples www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConW... Another reason that they are unlikely to be military is that Campbell has too many of them. Her Majesties armed forces hand out medals very reluctantly. Most American enlisted (wo)men have more decorations than a British Field Marshall!”

Tim continues, "a photograph [on the left] of Frederick Dawson of Mellish Street, Isle of Dogs, waterman and lighterman, is showing him in his rowing vest, standing beside a prize cup and wearing the prize medals won in rowing competitions. He was bound apprentice as a waterman at Wapping from 1877 to 1884 and later won many rowing prizes, including the Veterans Cup in 1904. - Date: c. 1895."

Tim, who is not only a rowing historian, but also a collector of rowing artefacts, writes, "in my collection of rowing memorabilia I have an example of the only Waterman’s medal still issued. Until 2000, the winner of the Doggett’s got the Coat and Badge and the rest of the competitors got nothing. To celebrate the Millennium, the Fishmongers’ Company decided to give miniature Doggett’s medals to all participants, silver for the winner and bronze for the rest. This was so successful that the practice continues."

"As an aside," Tim continues, "we must remember that, until the 1939-1945 War, there were many other Coat and Badge races, often run as an event within an otherwise amateur regatta. London RC warded (I think) a blue coat. A Richmond Regatta Coat and Badge from 1921 is in the possession of Auriol Kensington RC (on the left). The 1920s cutting from The Times newspaper shows that even the fairly lowly Hammersmith Regatta had one of the splendid items as a prize."

The National Maritime Museum in London has some beautiful rowing stuff. "At the Eastern Thames Regatta of 1902, M.J. Mears won this gold medal [below; photo credit NMM] together with a waterman’s coat and a silver arm badge," Tim also mentions.

Many thanks to Tim and Chris for your thoughts and input.

Three Proud Doggett Winners

As I have written about the Doggett Coat and Badge Race recently, Tim Koch of London has sent me a wonderful photograph of three old Doggett winners: J.J. Turferry (winner in 1900), W. H. Campbell (1850), and A.H. Brewer (1901). I love how Mr. Campbell holds his pose. I wonder where he got all those medals from…

Peter Mallory's "Evolution Of The Rowing Stroke"

Yesterday on Row2k, renowned rowing historian Peter Mallory published yet another installment of his gigantic work Rowing and Sculling: The Comprehensive History (work title).

Mallory, who has done a tremendous work, writes: “The book has grown to three volumes and will cover the worldwide evolution of rowing technique since rowing as a sport was invented at Eton College during the late 18th Century. By now I have collaborated with several hundred people around the world and traveled more than 50,000 miles over five years to do my research. I have amassed perhaps the largest digital video collection in the world, read hundreds of books and recorded hundreds of hours of oral history.”

The latest part is about the American Olympian Conn Findlay (see picture, which I borrowed from The Rowing Hall of Fame web site). To read Peter Mallory’s article on Row2k, please click here.

More Marvellous Rowing Pictures, At Shorpy 3

One of my favorite photographs from the Shorpy archive is ‘Jocks in Socks,’ which is showing an eight of the Potomac Boat Club on 20 September, 1919. I do not know what race the crew won, but the oarsmen look happy for the prize ‘pot’ standing on the right.

Anyone browsing around the Shorpy photo archive can leave comments which are posted below the image. This picture, called ‘Jocks in Socks’, has quite a few of funny comments, especially for a rower. Most of the people leaving comments have no idea how to row, or the rowers’ ‘dress code’, so the oarsmen’s wet socks create a little stir, together with whom is the ‘hottest’ oarsman… To read the comments, please click here.

More Marvellous Rowing Pictures, At Shorpy 2

Here Tim Koch continues to talk about some photographs from the Shorpy archive:

“It is interesting to compare these American pictures with those of British University crews of the time. The Brits would not row or be photographed with their shirts off and would mostly be using ‘fixed pins’ and not the swivel rowlocks that all these crews have (except Penn Varsity 1914 below).”

Penn varsity crew, 1914.

Tim continues: “I Britain in 1926 these women would have covered their arms and legs.”

1 May, 1926. Washington, D.C. Eight-oar shell crew of the Capital Athletic Club on the Potomac between the Francis Scott Key and Aqueduct bridges.

“Is this leather or chamois on the seats of these men's shorts? When I started rowing in 1984 we would sew bar towels to the seats or our rowing shorts.”

Cornell varsity crew at Poughkeepsie. June 18, 1911.

To be continued...

More Marvellous Rowing Pictures, At Shorpy 1

Rowing historian Tim Koch of Auriol Kensington RC in London has been busy during the Holidays. He has found another photo archive with beautiful, old rowing pictures. In an e-mail, Tim writes: “I have recently discovered a delightful archive photograph site at shorpy.com They have high resolution pictures often taken from 5x7 glass plate negatives so the detail is marvellous.” Of course, he typed in ‘rowing’ in the search and came up with some great pictures.

“In these three photographs,” Tim continues, “one or two members of the crew have plasters on their stomachs. Is this rowing related? The first one also shows the famous coach James Ten Eych who took Syracuse to ten National Championships in his time at the University, 1903-1938, including this Varsity Crew of 1908. His son, Edward, coached Syracuse 1939-1946.” Ten Eych Senior, Tim writes “won the Diamond Sculls at Henley Royal in 1897, the first American to do so.”

Syracuse varsity crew team at the boathouse with coach Ten Eyck circa 1908.

Washington Varsity 8.

Syracuse second varsity crew, June 11, 1914.

I am not sure about the plasters, but a good guess is, I think, that if you row without your shirt on, you might scratch your skin where the oar loom comes into your body. Some of the fellows in these pictures are having their plasters low. My old coach at Malmö Roddklubb in Sweden would yell his head off if we boys in the eight would pull in our oars too low. I distinctively remember him saying something about our balls…

But, over to Tim again: “This unusual shot [below] shows a thoughtful James Ten Eyck with his 1908 Freshman Crew. It is a very evocative picture and reminds me of the times I coxed a Thames Cup Crew at Henley Royal. We rented a house near the course and the crew seemed to spend most of their time eating and talking rowing. Great days.”

Syracuse freshmen on the rowing team sit around the dinner table
on June 19, 1908.

To be continued...