Henley Notebook: Crowds Make Henley Memorable

The Henley Royal Regatta regatta isn’t exciting simply because of its tradition and its dual single-elimination tournament format. The crowd of a quarter million spectators that Henley draws from Britain’s upper classes throughout the week and the closeness of the crowd during the stretch run are what make for an unforgettable experience.

“In the last 600 meters of this regatta it’s very hard to hear the coxswain, because the crowds are so loud and they’re right on the side of the course,” said sophomore Kip McDaniel of the first varsity boat.

It’s an experience that rivals even that of the Crimson’s championship meet, Eastern Sprints, and the 150-year old Harvard-Yale regatta.

“[Henley] is like no race in the United States,” said sophomore Will Riffelmacher of the Harvard ‘B’ coxed four. “Eastern Sprints is a highlight of the season obviously because it is our main championship race, and Yale is also a highlight because of the tradition of the Race and the time we spent together as a team at Red Top. But nothing compares to the roar of the grandstands during finals at Henley.”

One thing that the crowd from Henley lacks, however, is short skirts. Hemlines above the knees are still not allowed in the Steward’s Enclosure.

Together

Unlike any other Harvard sport, men’s crew has time to bond even after the end of the school year. As soon as finals are over, the team trains for two weeks at Red Top, host site of the Harvard-Yale regatta. This year, with the first varsity, second varsity and freshman boats all receiving funding for Henley, training continued all the way through this month. Two weeks of tough workouts continued in Cambridge until the team left for England on June 22, followed by lighter workouts in the days leading up to the races.

The team stuck together through good times and bad. When twin rowers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were shaken by the death of their 23-year old sister Amanda in mid-June, every one of their teammates took a break from training to attend the wake in the twins’ hometown of Greenwich, Conn. The twins carried on to Henley, with Tyler serving as one of the team’s spares and Cameron as a member of the Harvard ‘A’ four that reached the Britannia Cup final.

Feisty Frosh

An Eastern Sprints and Temple Cup title for the freshman boat seemed distant back in April, when the frosh fell to Navy and Princeton in two of its first three races. Freshman coach Bill Manning says that experience revealed areas where the crew needed improvement, but by season’s end, they matured.

“It was a very tough and long season for those guys,” said Harvard captain Wayne Pommen. “They had injuries to deal with. People switched in and out of the boat. It was a testament to the hard work and dedication that they put in that they started on a low note and ended up winning Eastern Sprints in open water.”

Pommen added that the frosh even continued to improve after Sprints and made practice harder and harder for the first varsity every week.

One of the most defining victories of the freshman boat’s season was its semifinal victory over the Marist first varsity, which had proven itself to be among the nation’s best dozen or so crews by beating Brown at the national championships.

The freshman boat had seen Marist row before and expected a fast start, but that meant rowing from behind, which isn’t easy psychologically.

“The [freshmen] rowed with poise,” Manning said. “When you’re behind, you can’t see the opposition, you have to row blind. That takes a lot of courage.”

Harvard trailed Marist for most of the race but pulled away to win by three-quarters of a length.

“We knew if we just continued to raise the ante they’d break,” Manning said.

This year’s freshman boat is the second straight to close the season with an Eastern Sprints title and a Temple Cup.

“Both classes are going to have a very huge impact for the next two years on Harvard rowing,” Pommen said.

Sister Act?

One of the British papers, The Telegraph, made an unflattering comparison between the Williams sisters of tennis and the Harvard ‘A’ and ‘B’ coxed fours in the Britannia Cup, in describing the ‘B’ boat’s comfortable victory.

“Rowing’s equivalent of the Williams sisters had clearly read the script: a fluffed start from the ‘A’ four gave Harvard ‘B’ an opening that they promptly seized, taking, and never surrendering, the lead,” the paper wrote.

Riffelmacher flatly denied the Telegraph’s assessment of the race.

“Everyone in the 2V is far too competitive to ever do anything along those lines,” he said.

Going the Distance

The Telegraph also reported that the Old Edwardian Boat Club of South Africa, which fell to the Crimson in the Ladies’ Plate semifinals, needed to stage their own version of “The Full Monty” in front of family and friends to raise funding for Henley.

“Well, knowing that some people go to such lengths to attend Henley shows how special an event it is,” Riffelmacher said.

He and the Harvard rowers who received funding to attend Henley understand not to take anything for granted.

“The team deeply appreciates the funding we get from the Friends of Harvard Rowing and the University and without their generous support I do not think that it would have been possible to have each crew perform as well as it did last weekend,” Riffelmacher continued.

End of the Line?

This weekend’s Henley performance marked the 40th anniversary of Harry Parker’s Crimson coaching career. The Harvard rowers couldn’t have found a better present for him than three Henley titles.

“To have someone with that experience coaching you really helps you during the year and especially during a regatta,” said sophomore Kip McDaniel of the first varsity boat. “You’re really confident with what you’re doing and you don’t have to question the coach at all. It’s a treat.”

Parker is always the subject of retirement rumors, but judging by words he said to his athletes, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.

“[Harry] said himself that he won’t quit until he doesn’t enjoy it anymore,” McDaniel said. “I think that’ll be at least another 10 years.”