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Rowing:The Other Side of the Pond
Albert Mitchell
(A, 2010-2015) - Interview with John Wiggins, Hon. Sec. to the Society, and former Master of Boats
supervisor on every floor. My roommate
and I share a broom-closet in comparison
to some of the rooms my teammates have.
However, whilst I complain I have a significant
advantage over many of the American
students who have never been to boarding
school and have never experienced the
pleasures of sharing a room the size of my
old room, Don Bradman, in Cowell’s.
Is there a typical day or week?
There are two timings for classes; the first is
Monday, Wednesday and Friday for an hour,
the second is Tuesdays and Thursdays for two
hours. There are various constraints on your
time, because you want to be able to train
with your whole team, and the concept of a
social life is close to non-existent in the spring
term. Fortunately, it is the winter term right
now, so I’m making up for it!
You had a high quality rowing
experience while atTeddies – what
were your proudest and most
memorable moments?
I am very fond of the National Schools
Bronze of 2012 and the Silver of 2013.
However, above all I think of my blazer, in
my closet at home. Occasionally, I will unzip
its bag, reach inside and touch the furry blue
carpet with the golden embroidery and think
of the young men, the brothers with whom
I made so many memories. I think of Jonny,
a man who I am truly privileged to have met.
In the winter of 2013, we had just finished
training in the old pavilion and he said: “Well,
I have decided that this is the VIII which I want
to race for this season, so you can relax and
stop looking over your shoulder.” Then he
turned to Sam Gillingham and me and said:
“Congratulations, you made the VIII, the hard
work has just begun”. The last thing he said
to me as my coach was “It’s been a journey,
now go to America and win some races!” I
cried. The three years between these two
statements contain many moments which
built and defined me.
How does the Boat Club at
Dartmouth compare?
The combined roster of the Women’s,
Men’s lightweight, and Men’s heavyweight is
in the region of around 120 people. There
is no predictable schedule and the river at
Dartmouth is around 30km long. On several
occasions, we have gone to the top and back.
However we could just as easily be doing
sprint pieces on the 2km race course; the
rowers are at the mercy of the coach’s whim.
The purpose of this secretive way of doing
things is very simple. As coach Allen puts it:
“When you come down here on a Tuesday
afternoon you should be ready to put
yourself in pain, don’t expect it not to hurt.”
When did you decide and what
influenced your decision to attend
university in the US?
The first time I really thought of the US as an
option for university was when
Toby Smith
(F, 1995-2000) of the victorious 1999 crew
came and visited. (Toby was already ill when
he visited the VIII and died from cancer in July
2015. His obituary can be found on page 38).
I remember sitting round Mrs Innes’s garden
table under the canopy in the sun and seeing
for the first time that ‘little red box’ (the
medal that Toby won as part of the VIII in
1999) which just means everything. He said to
us, “this little red box got me my scholarship
to Berkeley”. The concept of being recruited
by a university to row had not even occurred
to me and instantly I was hooked on the idea.
At the time I was 16, and had just completed
my GCSEs, yet people were already asking me
what university I was aiming for. It seemed far
easier to apply to an institution and build my
degree as I went along.
What were your expectations? Is it
very different from boarding school?
In truth I didn’t really come in with any
preconceptions but I was quite surprised
how similar it is to boarding school. As a
“Freshman” you are put into a dorm building
which comprises solely of other Freshmen
(and “Fresh-women”) and one Upperclassman
M A R T Y R S