The foundation of Israel university rowing

“Rowing is a growing sport,” says Zohar Neuner, director of The Friends of Daniel for Rowing Association (FDRA), a registered charity, which aims to advance the sport of rowing in Israel. The group focuses their efforts on the Daniel Rowing Centre in Tel Aviv.

“Although a couple of rowing clubs started operating some 80 years back, it is only recently that the sport started gaining momentum and popularity. University rowing is in its infancy.”

The Daniel Rowing Centre hosts the only two university teams in Israel: Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Weizmann Institute of Science. “It was our club’s initiative to establish those teams and launch rowing as a university sport in Israel,” says Neuner. “The first university boat race (for men) was a fantastic celebration and hopefully in the near future there will be a women’s event. We are also working hard towards establishing more university teams across Israel as well as regular competitions and races.”

Novice rowing is an essential component to the long term development strategy of both teams. “Novices who join the teams,” explains Neuner, “learn to row in all boat types from the very start: from single sculls to eights.”

A growing core of experienced rowers provide both leadership and an example of the success that comes with commitment to training. “Athletes from both teams compete in national open competitions,” Neuner says, “and in particular, TAU stroke, Ofer Paz, currently ranks second in Israel in the men’s double sculls and fourth in the men’s single.”

Even with three years of collective experience between them, Neuner can point to a few moments he feels have been pivotal in their short existence. “TAU’s climactic moment was by far the epic winning of the first university boat race and the celebration that followed.” Weizmann, on the other hand, need look no further than its very existence as the singular event from which all else will follow.”

One woman’s dream

“The establishment of the Weizmann team,” says Neuner, “was carried out single-handedly by one woman: Lucy Gordon.” A neuroscientist by training with no background in rowing, Neuner credits her for “recruiting all athletes and passionately injecting them with doses of motivation throughout the hard training.”

Gordon is currently studying for her PhD at Weizmann and only took up rowing last year with the initial establishment of the team through the Daniel Rowing Centre. “I didn’t have any rowing experience,” she explains, “but I was an athlete back in high school. I was a professional table tennis player and also player on the high school basketball team. From the very first practices, I knew that I had fallen in love with rowing, and now I really enjoy every moment of this sport.”

Gordon first heard about rowing through her PhD supervisor. An experienced rower himself, he told Gordon about the Daniel Rowing Centre and their vision to establish university rowing and build up some traditions starting with an annual university boat race.

“I was surprised how many response emails I got from students,” says Gordon. These students had no previous experience in rowing, yet they were interested in joining the team. A trial event and regular practices soon followed.

“There were some students who just wanted to try a new sport and some who just did it for fun,” she says. “Some left after several months, but at the end some of us had fallen in love with rowing. The latter ones now comprise the official Weizmann rowing team.”

With another year of preparation for both Weizmann and Tel Aviv Universities, the second annual Israeli Boat Race is certain to be more exciting as the athletes and visionaries lay down the foundations of a tradition they hope will last as long as The Oxford – Cambridge Boat Race that inspired it.

“University rowing races,” concludes Gordon, “are a completely new thing in Israel. Hopefully it would turn into a regular and popular tradition.”

Tel Aviv and Weizmann Universities by the numbers:

Tel Aviv University

·         University founded:       1953

·         Number of students:     30,000

·         Primary area of study:   Business

·         Rowing team founded: 2013

·         Competitive rowers:      14 (12 men, 2 women)

·         Boat Race wins:                1

Weizmann Institute of Science

·         University founded:       1934

·         Number of students:     3,000

·         Primary area of study:   graduate and postgraduate scientific research

·         Rowing team founded: 2014

·         Competitive rowers:      13 (8 men, 5 women)

·         Boat Race wins:                0

World Rowing is featuring university clubs from around the world to find out what makes them unique and what elements have contributed to their success. From student start-ups to Olympian production lines, is there a global definition of success in university rowing? If you think your university should be profiled, please contact us and tell us what sets your team apart:  media@fisa.org