Where did the sport of "Crew" originate?

Question

Where did the sport of "Crew" originate?

Answer 1

Rowing boats (or similar vessels) have been around for thousands of years, but prior to the 18th century, there is little mention of boat races. In the 13th century, Venetian festivals called regata included boat races among others. Nowadays, rowing competitions are still called regattas (with a second 't' added).

The finish of the Doggett's Coat and Badge. Painting by Thomas Rowlandson.The first modern rowing races, in the second half of the 18th century, were races between watermen (professional river taximen) on the River Thames in England. One such race, called the Doggett's Coat and Badge was first held in 1715 and is still held each summer. Subsequently, rowing became extremely popular both as an amateur and professional sport, often with thousands of spectators for events. Amateurs took up competitive rowing in 1811, when students at Eton College (a boys' prep school) began rowing a ten-oared barge and the first recorded race between students took place in 1817. Graduates of Eton went on to Oxford and Cambridge, where they organized College boat clubs. The Boat Race between Oxford University and Cambridge University first took place in 1829 and was the second intercollegiate sporting event (following the first Varsity Cricket Match by 2 years). It began as a two mile competition but is today competed for four miles. The Boat Race continues to be a popular British sporting event.

In America, there is also a sizable rowing community. Ports such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia required the building of many small rowing boats, and competition was inevitable. The first American race took place on the Schuylkill River in 1762 between 6-oared barges. As the sport gained popularity, clubs were formed and scullers began racing for prizes. Professionals were rowing against clubs and each other before the civil war. Races were often round trips to a stake and back, so that the start and finish could be watched. The public flocked to such events, and rowing was as popular in America during the 1800s as other professional sports are today. In 1824, ferrymen from the Whitehall Landing at Manhattan's Battery raced a crew from the British frigate HMS Hussar for $1,000. Thousands bet on the event and the Americans won. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University. The Harvard-Yale Regatta is the oldest intercollegiate sporting event in the United States having been contested every year since 1852 (except for occasional breaks due to major wars, such as World War II and the US Civil War). The oldest inter-high school competition in the United States also occurred on the water, in the form of a race in six man boats between two New England boarding schools: Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, Massachusetts. The oldest continuous rowing club in America is the Detroit Boat Club, in Detroit, Michigan.

Rowing today is governed by the FISA, which has organized World Rowing Championships since 1962. Rowing has also been conducted at the Olympic Games since 1900 (canceled at the first modern Games in 1896 due to bad weather).

Strong rowing nations include Great Britain, the United States, Italy, France, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and Romania. Well-known rowers of recent years include Sir Steve Redgrave (UK), who won Olympic golds in five successive Olympics; Sir Matthew Pinsent (UK), who won golds in four successive Olympics; James Tomkins (Australia), three times Olympic gold medalist; Rob Waddell (New Zealand) and Xeno Müller (Switzerland), opponents in the single sculls; Ekaterina Karsten (Belarus) in women's single sculls; Kathrin Boron (Germany) in women's double sculls and quadruples.