by
Michael F. Murphy, Ph.D.
Most
people today would be surprised to learn that since pioneer times London,
Ontario, has produced some of Canada's finest rowers. Sporadic successes,
flawed memories, and a lack of research, publication and media attention
account for the lack of recognition. This article will partially reconstruct
that exciting history.
The
first documented rowing regatta in London took place in 1849 on a now non‑existent
lake, Lake Horn, which was situated east of the current CPR Hotel (the
"Ceeps"). The contest involved local citizens and British soldiers
from the Twentieth Regiment, who were stationed at the military reservation on
what is now called Victoria Park. In all likelihood, regattas were held before
then but to date no evidence has been discovered to substantiate the claim.
Local newspaper articles record an increasing number of rowing competitions
during the late 1850s and 1860s, as crews from the "Arms," "Abbey"
and "Tecumseh" hotels clashed oars in friendly rivalries on the south
branch of the Thames River.
By
1870, however, it appears that these disparate rowing groups had merged under
one banner, that of the London Rowing Club. The formation of this club was the
result of a mélange of factors which dramatically altered the nature of sport
in London and elsewhere during the second half of the nineteenth century. The
industrial revolution, more leisure time, and advancing technology (railways
and steamboats) increased the numbers of participants and spectators in sport
as well as in the sphere of competition; and city rather than local rivalries
became more possible than in the past. Accordingly, in London the fastest
oarsmen gravitated to the LRC to better their chances of winning against the
best rowers from other municipalities. Two additional factors influenced the
development of rowing and heightened the interest of Londoners in the sport
during the 1870s and 1880s. First, a dam and waterworks were constructed at Springbank
Park in 1878 to solve the city's sanitation problems. This decision created a
superior rowing course almost overnight on the main branch of the Thames, and
at least three new rowing clubs sprang into existence ‑‑ the Forest
City Rowing Club, the Bank of Commerce Rowing Club and the Hanlan Boat Club.
These new clubs, also with short histories, then raced against the established
LRC, which by this time had been relocated to the southwest corner of the banks
at the "Forks of the Thames." The second factor to raise the profile
of rowing in London at this time was an event called the "Grand
Regatta," which was held on the 8th of July, 1880; it would be without
parallel in London's rowing history for more than a century. Over 3,000
spectators thronged to the event to view Canadian Ned Hanlan, the champion sculler
of the world, and others display their rowing prowess. In all likelihood, these
factors helped to prepare London oarsmen for their success at the first Henley
regatta which was held in Toronto later that year. From the vantage point of
1880, therefore, the future of the sport in London looked bright.
Tragedy,
however, struck in 1881. On the holiday weekend of May 24, 1881, the paddle
wheeler "Victoria" sank on its return trip from Springbank Park to
London; and almost 200 lives were lost. Legend has it two scullers were racing
on the Thames River that day, and as they powered past the Victoria a large
number of people rushed to one side to witness their efforts thereby causing
the steamer to sink. As a result of this incident, boating enthusiasm on the
river was severely restrained for many years.
Few
details have survived about London's rowing history between 1890 and 1950, but
we know that at the turn of the century the LRC was known as the London Bowling
and Rowing Club; that club members staged an annual regatta on the Thames River
each Dominion Day, which attracted competitors from several other
municipalities; and that in 1905, four LBRC oarsmen won the workboat four race
at Henley. This group's clubhouse, however, was decimated by the severe floods
which swept through London in the late 1930s and 1940s; and it appears that the
LBRC was dormant during World War II. Nonetheless, in 1954 a small group of
Londoners re‑established the LRC; and it operated out of two venues for
over a decade. The one site was situated in an old barn near a lake which was
created by a new dam west of the city (Fanshawe Lake), while the other was in a
Pump House at Springbank Park. In general, LRC and University of Western
Ontario officials together ran rowing programs for university students on the
Lake and high school pupils on the River.
Beginning
in the late 1960s, however, and for the next three decades, Londoners would
undertake several important steps to raise the standard of rowing in their
community. In 1968, the Western Rowing Club was founded; and several of its
members participated very successfully in the Olympic trials that year, a first
for Western. Many of these men remained at Western until the early 1970s, and
established the purple and white's winning tradition in university circles. In
addition, the WRC and U.W.O.R.C. membership tore down the old barn at the Lake
at about this time and replaced it with a more modern shellhouse. Nevertheless,
the London and Western clubs remained active partners until 1971, when they
went their separate ways.
Across
town, the LRC moved its operations in 1974 from the Pump House in Springbank
Park one mile east to the newly‑built Joe McManus Canoeing and Rowing
Facility. These improvements, along with several more in ensuing years, would
help an impressive number of town and gown crews win provincial and national
titles over the next two decades. A number of these rowers, moreover, now both
men and women, would also compete and win medals at World Championships and Pan
American and Olympic Games, while a few local individuals went on to attain
important administrative positions with provincial, national, and international
rowing bodies. Provincial championships would be held on the Lake and the River
too; and in 1994, London's first international championship rowing regatta was
staged ‑‑ the Commonwealth Rowing Championships which attracted
approximately 400 athletes from thirteen countries as well as 8,000 spectators.
Furthermore, in the late 1990s Project 99, an undertaking designed to improve
the land and water facilities at the Fanshawe rowing site, was initiated, to
prepare for another Commonwealth Championships in 1999 and for the 2001 Canada
Summer Games (now at the Doug Wells Rowing Centre, named after a distinguished
Canadian and patron of the centre).
It
is important to note that athletes from London and Western until the mid‑1980s
were compelled to leave the city in order to try out for the national team.
That would change in 1986, however, as the major rowing groups in London
consolidated their efforts and resources to win a High Performance Rowing
Centre (a new concept) from Rowing Canada Aviron, one of two centres that were
put up for bids that year. The second centre was awarded to Victoria, British
Columbia, where it remains today. These decisions were important ones for
Canadian rowing. The establishment of High Performance Centres in London and
Victoria, along with several other important organizational changes,
dramatically transformed rowing in Canada. In a few short years, Canadian
rowers, many of whom lived and trained in London and Victoria, were elevated to
a popularity not seen since the time of Hanlan; and the small but competent
system which had produced these exceptional athletes was studied by admirers
both at home and abroad. Not surprisingly, Canadians now expect their rowing
heroes to march regularly to the medal podiums; and London, Ontario, with its
once forgotten rowing tradition, is again a proud contributor to these results.