A lesson for quitter Radcliffe

[Peter Clinch]

Michael MacClancy wrote:

> The only people who reliably get exposed to rowing go to public schools

Not the case at all: many/most Universities have a rowing club, and
access to universities is getting more and more common. Also the case
that towns where there's the water available are more likely to have
local clubs open to anyone who wants to give it a try. Fact is if your
main culture point is fitba then you're not likely to go and ask, but
that hardly means it wouldn't be open to you if you were interested.

> (same probably applies to men's hockey).

It's more of a regional basis. I played hockey at a "normal" school,
and we weren't unique in the area (SE London).

> If rowing is actually different to this then it needs some major PR to get
> its presentation right.

It won't be the same everywhere. There are places where to play on a
golf course of anything like the standard of the municipal ones around
here, where golf really is an "everyman" sport, would cost you a small
fortune. If I wanted to go rowing I'd hook up with the University
rowing club where I'd be in company of lots of people who'd never rowed
before and who weren't in the Rich People lists.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Peter Clinch]

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

> Yebbut the boats are *very* expensive and fragile. Presumably their cost
> is borne by club members' subscriptions...

And grants and the like. But looking at the UoD Sports Union site the
university Boat Club is £25/year, and you'd pay an extra £14 affiliation
if you weren't in the Union. £40 a year is less than most runners spend
on running kit, I'd think, which is rather the point: what is the bottom
line to someone taking part?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Michael MacClancy]

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:39:45 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:

> Michael MacClancy wrote:
>
>> The only people who reliably get exposed to rowing go to public schools
>
> Not the case at all: many/most Universities have a rowing club, and
> access to universities is getting more and more common.

I would guess that the top rowers need to start a long time before they go
to university.

> Also the case
> that towns where there's the water available are more likely to have
> local clubs open to anyone who wants to give it a try. Fact is if your
> main culture point is fitba

What's 'fitba'

> then you're not likely to go and ask, but
> that hardly means it wouldn't be open to you if you were interested.
>
>> (same probably applies to men's hockey).
>
> It's more of a regional basis. I played hockey at a "normal" school,
> and we weren't unique in the area (SE London).

Aah, but SE London isn't normal. ;-) Anyway, they've probably built houses
on the hockey pitch by now!
>
>> If rowing is actually different to this then it needs some major PR to get
>> its presentation right.
>
> It won't be the same everywhere. There are places where to play on a
> golf course of anything like the standard of the municipal ones around
> here, where golf really is an "everyman" sport, would cost you a small
> fortune.

They play a miniaturised version elsewhere. It's called snooker. Land's
too expensive down here to let 'everyman' play golf on it. ;-)

>If I wanted to go rowing I'd hook up with the University
> rowing club where I'd be in company of lots of people who'd never rowed
> before and who weren't in the Rich People lists.

I bet you even the University rowing club attracts more than its fair share
of Hooray Henrys (or whatever they're called in your parts - Aberdeen
Anguses?)

--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "They never open their mouths without subtracting from
the sum of human knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

 

[Peter Clinch]

Michael MacClancy wrote:

> What's 'fitba'

"Football", rendered in Scots.

Down in the Borders they play more Rugby, up in the Highlands it's more
about Shinty.

> I bet you even the University rowing club attracts more than its fair share
> of Hooray Henrys (or whatever they're called in your parts - Aberdeen
> Anguses?)

Angi? ;-)

Yes, but that's in part because it's nearer to their culture base than
the Glasgow lad who wants to play soccer. The same would go for the
Rugby club, but that doesn't make Rugby or rowing a class elite thing,
or Soccer a class elite thing the other way up for that matter. If you
want to go rowing then you can join the rowing club, they don't test
your blood for relative blueness first.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Michael MacClancy <[email protected]>typed


> > Also the case
> > that towns where there's the water available are more likely to have
> > local clubs open to anyone who wants to give it a try. Fact is if your
> > main culture point is fitba

> What's 'fitba'

An 11-a-side(usu) mens'(usu) team ball game played mostly in winter
(August-May) and hugely hyped up on television. It is known as
'foopball' in The Shedde.

I believe it to be part of 'popular culture'.

My beliefs are difficult to verify as I do not have a TV and do not read
newspapers.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.

 

[Mark South]

"Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:39:45 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:
> > Fact is if your main culture point is fitba
>
> What's 'fitba'

It's totally ass-on, dude!
--
Mark South, Super Genius: World Citizen, Net Denizen

 

[Roos Eisma]

Michael MacClancy <[email protected]> writes:

>If rowing is actually different to this then it needs some major PR to get
>its presentation right.

Varies by country as well. In the NL there are a lot of student rowing
clubs, some posh some not, but also a lot of civilian clubs. At my club in
Amsterdam we did notice a lack of ethnic children entering (they had a
very active youth programme) but overall there was a good variety of
people.
The fast fragile boat side of rowing is the serious racing part - a lot of
people, especially in the civilian clubs, row in heavier sturdier boats
and may enter local races but often just go touring.

Now hockey in the NL seems to be limited to certain posh regions

Roos

 

[David Martin]

On 31/8/04 3:14 pm, in article [email protected],
"Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote:

> The only people who reliably get exposed to rowing go to public schools
> (same probably applies to men's hockey).
>
> If rowing is actually different to this then it needs some major PR to get
> its presentation right.

Where I grew up the local schools that rowed included the two local comps,
the local state selective school, and the local private grammar school.

Another local state school rowed out of the local rowing club's boathouse,
all the others had their own boat houses and they were all on the Thames in
SW London.

The Grammar school tended to whip our butts quite frequently (my brother
coxed their J15 four who won the J16 event in the Ghent international
regatta many years ago. A very good crew.)

Rowing may be predominantly a private school pursuit but it isn't
exclusively so.


...d

 

[Michael MacClancy]

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 17:36:30 +0200, Mark South wrote:

> "Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:39:45 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:
>>> Fact is if your main culture point is fitba
>>
>> What's 'fitba'
>
> It's totally ass-on, dude!

WTFIT?
--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his
friends." -Oscar Wilde
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

 

[Cicero]

"Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:20:23 +0100, Colin Blackburn wrote:
>
>
>
> >
> > Even here it's probably a measure of the misplaced importance of
athletics
> > (in the media rather than amongst the denizens of urc). We (the UK in
this
> > instance) have done well in cycling, sailing, rowing and equestrianism
but
> > none of these are 'international' sports and none receive the attention
> > athletics does.
> >
> > Colin
>
> Have you not thought that athletics is popular because it is so much more
> accessible to most people than the sports mentioned above? To run you
need
> shoes, socks, shorts and singlet which together are considerably cheaper
> than the bike, boat or horse needed for the others.
>
> --
> Michael MacClancy
>

============
Even less for some people. Remember the great Abebe Bikila who won the 1960
Olympic Marathon running barefoot.

Cic.

 

[James Annan]

Michael MacClancy wrote:

>
> I would guess that the top rowers need to start a long time before they go
> to university.

Like Sir Steve Redgrave, for instance. He started rowing about 25 years
before he got his degree.

But there are certainly others who have achieved significant success
when starting to row at university, assuming rowing for one's country
counts.

James
PS in case you didn't realise, SR started rowing at Great Marlow
comprehensive school, the university degree was an honorary award after
he retired.
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/