RowingRelated

The above film is an in-depth, inside look at Portland Women's Rowing –beautifully shot and expertly edited, this gets at the core of what rowing is all about, in a subtle, powerful way. Founded by Jeanne Niemer in 2006, Portland Women's Rowing now has a permanent place in the Portland Boathouse, alongside Station L Rowing and Rose City Rowing Club (home to Ruth Narode , who took silver at the 2012 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints, and later backed that up with a silver medal performance at Junior Worlds in Plovdiv, Bulgaria). More on PWR can be found on the Oregon Public Broadcasting website, along with a slideshow from the 2012 Portland Fall Classic. Thanks very much to writer and filmmaker Ifanyi Bell for sending us the video! -RR

The above video, which is the third in a recent series by Olympic gold and silver medalist Xeno Müller , provides a 15-minute tech talk looking at some of the most technically sound, efficient athletes on the international rowing circuit. The final of the lightweight men's four in London was, as expected, one of the most dramatic races of the regatta, and featured a bonafide rowing legend, Eskild Ebbesen (a five-time Olympic medalist, with three golds and two bronze-medal finishes), in the stroke seat of the Danish crew. Joining the Danes in the final were the 2011 World Champions from Australia , an excellent GB crew, a surprising Swiss crew, South Africa (now legends in their own right), and The Netherlands . We all know how it played out–the comeback victory for South Africa finished off what was an epic battle, marking the first-ever Olympic rowing gold medal for RSA. In light of their accomplishment, FISA honored the crew as its Male Crew of the Year , and recently publ...

Just to get you all in the mood for winter training, here's a look at what the Princeton Tigers have been up to recently–a great preview of the land-based fun to be had this season as the water starts to freeze and the humming of the ergo becomes an ever-present drone. As usual, the editors had a good time putting this film together–particularly good are the freeze-frame moments through the final minute (showcasing the watchful eye of head coach Greg Hughes ). We kicked off a contest for all our RR readers last week, and the submissions have already started coming in for a shot at some JLRacing swag and a featured VOTW for the best rowing recruiting video. Given the prevalence of small, HD video cameras with waterproof cases these days, putting together something worth watching shouldn't be too tall a task–and once you do, ship it on over! The deadline is 31 December, 2012. Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gma...

The above video, produced by UCL following the Head of the River Race earlier this year, is a fine example of a recruiting video (whether or not it was intended as such), as it gives the viewer a window into the sport, visually as well as from the athletes' perspective. And, it accomplishes all this making use of very little footage, concise interviews, and a classical soundtrack–quite different from the norm. Much like the series of videos that Oxford produced last year during the lead-up to the 2012 Boat Race (you can view the whole series of seven videos here ), this short film gets at just what rowing is all about–it is, well, beautiful. RR readers:  Have a recruiting video you want us to see? Ship it our way! Don't have one? Create one! Let us know in the comments on this post, via email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, via Twitter ( twitter.com/rowingrelated ), or get in touch via our Facebook or Google+ pages. Should we gather enough responses, we will pic...

This week's video comes to us thanks to Mike Modlin's YouTube Channel , and gives us an inside look at last weekend's West Coast Fall Speed Order, hosted by California Rowing Club on the Oakland Estuary. The East Coast , Midwest and West Coast Speed Orders are all in the books for 2012, and there were a number of notable new faces in the mix with a view toward Rio 2016, including a healthy number of under-23 veterans looking to make the next step in their international rowing careers. Interestingly, two of the three Speed Orders saw lightweight scullers win the men's heavyweight single, with John Grave s taking East Coast honors, and RR interviewee  Nick Trojan doing work on the West Coast. For complete results from the East Coast , Midwest and West Coast Speed Orders, visit the official website of USRowing. Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your suggestion via Twitter ( twit...

As I'm sure you all know, there was some big news for those of us stateside last week. That's right, USRowing announced that it would be taking on none other than Washington frosh coach Luke McGee to take over the responsibilities of coaching the U.S. men's eight and U23 men's eight, while current lightweight coach Bryan Volpenhein will take on the additional duty of coaching the men's heavyweight four. Oh, and we elected a president. Getting right down to it, there are some reasons to like this move, and some major questions regarding the timing and the new roles that these two coaches will take on as we begin a new quadrennium. First, let's look on the bright side. Personally, I was excited to hear that Luke McGee would be taking on a role with the U.S. national team, particularly after we named him as one of our top candidates (along with our top pick, Tom Bohrer , and California's Dave O'Neill ) in our piece calling out USRowing for not bein...

This week's video comes to us from the Thames, where the 2012 Head of the River Fours took place over the weekend, showcasing some of the top international and club athletes in the UK battling to begin a new quadrennium with a bang. The video shows the first 52 crews coming through the starting queue, led off by Leander Club's elite men's quad, who repeated as champions by just over two seconds ahead of Tideway Scullers in a time of 17:51.0. Oxford and Cambridge also had crews on the water, facing off for the first time, albeit not in match-race style. This time, Oxford's Elite Coxed Four bested bested their rivals, with Oxford's Isis II (a crew that included GB Olympic men's eight stroke Constantine Louloudis, and Canadian Olympic silver medalist Malcolm Howard ) placing seventh overall to CUBC's 11th, though Cambridge I (featuring GB Olympic bronze medalist George Nash ) crossed the finish just five second back of the Dark Blues. For complete resu...

The above video comes to us from Down Under, and is easily among the top contenders for best boat race challenge ever issued. Aussie national teamer Fergus Pragnell lays down the gauntlet in style, and even draws some laughs from the MUBC crews along the way. This year's Aussie Boat Race continued the trends on both the men's and women's sides, with the men from Sydney winning their third straight title and the women from Melbourne doing the same. More news and info is available on the official website of the Australian Boat Race . Also, as I'm sure you all know, there was some big news for those of us stateside on Tuesday evening. That's right, USRowing announced that it would be hiring none other than Washington frosh coach Luke McGee to take over the responsibilities of coaching the U.S. men's eight and U23 men's eight, while current lightweight coach Bryan Volpenhein will take on the additional duty of coaching the men's heavyweight four....

This week's video comes to us from Princeton pre-Sandy, and covers the 2012 Princeton Chase on Lake Carnegie. With race footage from the men's varsity heavyweight and lightweight eights, as well as the women's varsity eight event, this video is a thorough look at the racing and the atmosphere around the course, with a healthy amount of humor thrown into the mix – let's just say we're impressed with Greg Hughes ' repertoire of movie voice impersonations. Hats off to Princeton for another entertaining & informative race video! Follow this link for complete 2012 Chase results .  Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your suggestion via Twitter ( twitter.com/rowingrelated ), or get in touch via our Facebook or Google+ pages. -RR

Gevvie Stone in Bled, 2011 (Photo: B. Kitch) Not only has Gevvie Stone accumulated quite a resume on the water, she’s no slouch in the classroom either. The eight-time (yes, eight-time) winner of the Head Of The Charles  capped off an Olympic year that saw her take seventh overall in the women’s single with her third consecutive title in the women’s champ single on the Chuck. Now, she has her sights set on more than just Rio : Stone is a medical student, whose goals for the next Olympic cycle include graduating from her program at Tufts University in 2014. Here, Stone shares a little about her background in the sport, her time at Princeton , her experience in London, and just how she manages to keep climbing the podium on her home course – the bottom line? There's no substitute for experience. RR: If my research is correct, this year marked the eighth time you've won the Head Of The Charles, including winning the top women's sculling event for three years running. I...