Rower

Rower  (athlete)
Finish of 2007 Oxford-Cambridge boat race
A sport often practiced at prestigious universities.

The more prestigious universities often have their own rowing clubs, and being selected to their competitive rowing teams is an honor. Thus, a rower often belong to an establishment background, or it is a way to gain access to establishment networks.

Modern History

Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 17th century when races (regattas) were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom. Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies. Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of "boat clubs" at the British public schools of Eton College, Shrewsbury School, Durham School, and Westminster School. Similarly, clubs were formed at the University of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815. At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827. Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time; in England Leander Club was founded in 1818.

In Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University. Also the Australian establishment schools and universities have their own rowing clubs.

The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race

The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's and women's races, as well as races for reserve crews. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

The men's race was first held in 1829 and has been held annually since 1856, except during the First and Second World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. The first women's event was in 1927 and the race has been held annually since 1964. Since 2015, the women's race has taken place on the same day and course, and since 2018 the combined event of the two races has been referred to as "The Boat Race". In the 2019 races, which took place on Sunday 7 April 2019, Cambridge won the men's and women's races as well as both reserve races.

 

Examples

Page name	Description
Adrian Cadbury	Director of the Bank of England 1970-1994
Michael Evans	Attended the 2013 Bilderberg. Goldman Sachs for 20 years. independent director of the Barrick Gold Corporation.
Murray Riley	Australian drug smuggler connected to the Nugan-Hand bank and protected by intelligence services.
Mervyn Wood	NSW Police Commissioner with rowing partner who became an international drug smuggler implicated in the CIA's Nugan Hand Bank.

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