History of Dartmouth Rowing

HISTORY

Rowing began at Dartmouth in 1833 when the oarsmen rowed their sixes out of an ice house on Lake Mascoma. The crews moved to the Connecticut River on campus in 1937, and lightweights were added to the program in the 1940's. Peter Gardner coached the crews here from 1957 to 1988 and brought Dartmouth Crew to the level it maintains today. His crowning achievement was the construction of The Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse in 1986.

Dartmouth Crew has a reputation for leadership both on and off the water. In recent years, more than 30 Dartmouth rowers have represented the United States in international competition, including Pan American and World Championship Gold Medalists in 1999. Dartmouth men's varsity crews have won three Eastern Sprints titles in the past nine years. Rowing is presently the most popular sport at Dartmouth, with over 200 students pulling an oar every year.

The Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse

The Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse is located on the Connecticut River and is less than a 10 minute walk from anywhere on campus. The upper floor contains a large function room, office, kitchen and deck overlooking the river. The ground floor houses over 30 racing shells for the men's, women's and men's lightweight programs. A second boathouse nearby contains a fleet of singles, doubles and pairs, a boat repair shop and weight lifting equipment. Dartmouth features the latest technology in rowing and training equipment, with every squad racing in new Vespoli Millenium eights.

The Connecticut River allows limitless miles of rowing amid the scenic settings of mountainous New Hampshire. Wind and power boats rarely disturb the crews here, with "glass" conditions most days. This combination of elements has earned Dartmouth the reputation for the best water in the country, borne out by the fact that National Team crews have trained here every summer since 1972. The Connecticut is one of the few bodies of water in the league where a swim after the row is a regular feature during the warmer months.

WINTER TRAINING

Dartmouth features state-of-the-art indoor training facilities for the winter months. Our 16 person tank, completed in 1988, uses two sets of Dreissigacker oars for customized workouts. A nearby workout area contains 18 Concept II ergometers, two Gamut ergometers and a computer system to evaluate power application through the rowing stroke. The crew program has a complete set of weight training equipment and can also access the College's outstanding Manley Varsity Weight Room. The athletes also use the miles of trails around campus for mountain biking, running and cross country skiing.

Using the same computer system featured at most indoor rowing races (such as the CRASH-B, Dartmouth has created the ultimate system in ergometer racing. Sixteen ergs are wired to a computer and can be raced against each other as singles, pairs, fours or eights. The computer averages the speed of 2, 4 or 8 ergs and shows them as one "boat" traveling acros a large TV screen. The individual erg monitors show the usual split, rate and time, plus tell the oarsman exactly which place their team is in and how many meters ahead or behind they are. The ergometers are set up on the new Concept II slides in sets of four, requiring the oarsmen to row exactly in sych together. A typical workout is racing four "fours" against each other, switching the oarsmen to find the fastest combinations.

RECORDS Click here for the video

The Dartmouth teams hold six marathon ergometer records recognized by Concept II.

1995	Large Team 1,000,000 Meters (Coed) 53 hours, 22 min., 40 sec. (1:36.1 split)
1998	24 Hours - Large Team Men 497,972 meters (1.26.7 split)
1998	24 Hours - Large Team Women 413,539 meters (1.44.5 split)
2001	100,000 meters Men's Large Team 4 hours, 22 min. 39.4 sec. (1:18.8 split)
2001	100,000 meters Women's Large Team 5 hours, 30 min. 1.0 sec. (1:39.0 split)
2001	100,000 meters Mixed Large Team 4 hours, 58 min. 26.2 sec. (1:29.5 split)