Rowing: A Brief History

• In B.C. times, it was common practice that oared vessels were used for commerce, transportation, fishing, war, and life saving, as seen to the right.
   

• 1247 - The first reference to a "regatta" was made in Venetian documents. The Venetians were very dependent upon water transportation and the "regatta" of which they spoke would, in later years, come to include displays of entertainment and recreation.
   

• 1788 - Two eight-oared cutters, the Chatham and the Invincible, raced from Westminster to Richmond on the Thames, becoming the first boat race recorded in England’s Annual Register.
   

• 1823 - The Knickerbocker Club becomes the first boat club organized in the United States.
   

• 1827 - The first college boat club was organized at Cambridge University; the first recorded contest among the Cambridge college boat clubs for Head of the River was won by Trinity.
  

• 1976 - First women's Olympic rowing, with sprint races lasting 1000 meters for eights and singles. Joan Lind, seen to the left, was a silver medalist in the women's single.
   

• 1980s - Vespoli boats became the standard of choice for most U.S. rowing programs.

Note: Information and images courtesy of Friends of Rowing History

Questions? Email Lani Gray at lgray@email.com

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