Greg Denieffe writes:

Oscar Wilde once said “Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.” However, it takes much more than a single person to preserve it and there is no greater institution than the River & Rowing Museum (RRM) at doing just this.

In Tim Koch’s recent post You Forgot, Didn’t You?, there was a reminder that the 2015 Rowing History Forum is being held at the RRM on Saturday, 21 November. Tim wrote: ‘This year the event has been “rebranded” and it will be on the theme of “Women in Rowing”.’

In the last few days further details have appeared on the RRM website about the forum and the keynote speakers and topics they will cover:

Rocking the Boat: Women in Rowing

Discover the hidden history of women’s rowing in this year’s Rowing History Forum. The general theme of the forum is Women Come of Age in Rowing in the year when the Oxford and Cambridge’s Women’s Boat Race took to the Tideway alongside the men, and rowing faces the challenge of the International Olympic Committee’s aim of gender equality by 2020.

Annamarie Phelps, Chair of British Rowing, will speak on Women’s Rowing – From Assisted Drifting to Driving Force.

Thomas E. Weil, rowing historian, will unveil the Forgotten 19th Century Trailblazers of Women’s Rowing.

Mike Sweeney, Chairman of Henley Royal Regatta from 1993 to 2015, will give talk on the theme Henley Royal Regatta Never Changes!  Or does it? Mike has overseen the introduction of more events for women, the election of more female Stewards and introducing HRR to the world of drones and YouTube.

Peter Mallory, author of The Sport of Rowing, will examine Early Women’s Rowing on the American Frontier, touching on the impact of the Pocock boat-building family’s move from Eton to Seattle.

The cost of the forum including lunch is a very reasonable £30 and details of how to book can be found here.

The museum has also launched a new membership scheme for rowing clubs and rowing enthusiasts who share HTBS’s passion for rowing, its history and its future. It is called Rowing Heritage Champions and Phelps writes this about the scheme:

Rowing Heritage Champions offers those passionate about our sport and its long and captivating history a real opportunity to help maintain the rich narrative of Rowing for future generations. Rowing’s values and integrity inspire many, both in our sport and in the wider world and it is vital that we preserve the storylines of the great men and women who made the sport which we cherish today.

Read more about the scheme and how to join here.