Women's Crew History

1900-1909

1903
1906
1907
1903
Washington Rowing Women's History

1903 is the first year of documented women’s rowing at Washington, with a photo and page in the 1904 Tyee that noted, “The co-eds have taken to rowing for the first time this year. A number of the young ladies of the dormitory may be seen each morning about six o’clock down at the lake training faithfully. They use the same boats used by the boys and under the same conditions.”

A number of factors played into this opportunity. For one, the new campus was surrounded on two sides by water, Lake Union to the west and Lake Washington to the east, and rowing was a natural attraction. But another important factor was the frontier spirit at Washington; to a large degree, Washington was not influenced by east coast “norms” or culture. Their culture was their own, and it was borne out of a closeness to nature, bountiful natural resources, and a location hundreds of miles from the next major urban center. The Washington identity was whatever they made it.

And make it they did.  Importantly, as part of that new identity, 1903 also marked the inaugural “Junior Day”; what through the decades is now continued at Washington as “Class Day”. As described in the early history, “Junior Day” was a university-wide program that included rowing and canoeing (aquatic sports), basketball, athletics (track and field), tennis events as well as other University activities such as log rolling. Both men and women competed in the sports events and at times they competed together in mixed events. The activities and sporting events pitted each class against the other for bragging rights. In addition, each year the junior class planted a tree in front of present day Denny Hall with Professor Edmund Meany, and wrote and performed a farce play. The Junior Day events – sometimes lasting several days – usually ended with the Junior Prom. Although there is no record that the women of 1903 competed in rowing in the first ever Junior Day (May 1, 1903), we do know that efforts were being made for oarswomen to be a part of this unique all-campus event.

Washington Rowing History – Women: 1900’s, with the program really hitting its stride after 1910 – Washington Rowing History – Women: 1910’s.

Women’s organized rowing was unique at the time and in many ways defines the University’s innovative spirit from a young age; but so too is the opportunity to read about it.  We hope you take the opportunity to read this exceptionally researched history that Ellen so eloquently wrote to fully understand the legacy – and importance – of the early years of Women’s Rowing at Washington. Tyee photos

1906
One of the earliest photos of the Washington Women's Varsity 4, with Hiram Conibear in the back row, circa 1907. Tyee photo.

Hiram Conibear was hired in the fall of 1906 as a trainer for the track and football teams and – after Jim Knight vacated the rowing job – was convinced by the athletic board to also assume the role of head coach for “aquatics” (rowing) for the 1907 season.  With some women already informally rowing out of the boathouse, Conibear made it official and started a women’s program, the only one of its kind at a public school in the nation at the time. Conibear – an innovative, intelligent, curious, determined risk-taker – believed in four core principles: hard work; team over self; camaraderie; and rowing to win. Here he is pictured (in the back), early in the establishment of this team, with five of his athletes. Tyee photo

1907
Washington Rowing Women's History

The magnitude of what these women, along with their coach, were accomplishing by maintaining a daily regimen of rowing at a university at this time cannot be understated. In 1907 – when this photo was taken – Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United States; Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona… were not states, and women could not vote (women would win that right through the ratification of the 20th Amendment thirteen years after this photo was taken in 1920). There were two women’s rowing programs active at U.S. universities at the time: Washington and Wellesley.  Women’s athletics were not only unsupported in the majority of the country, they were often admonished as unhealthy for women, particularly in endurance and aerobic sports.

Hiram Conibear did not agree with that sentiment. He encouraged women to row and fought for it multiple times, even risking his job by ignoring an administration that saw women’s rowing as dangerous and unflattering to women. Women’s Rowing was cancelled by upper campus more than once, but each year would come back with the blessing of Conibear, to the point where by 1913 he was hiring a woman to be the women’s head coach.  And although formal competition (once a year) was limited to “form contests” competed by class (awarded points by judges for composure, synchronicity, posture, and bladework), informal competition  was completely different.  As we know from testimonials, that was less an annual event, but much better described as a consistent event: when the women headed out into Lake Washington or Lake Union – and this is particularly true after 1912 when the program had more shells – they went head to head full slide, full power.

“Coach Conibear recalled the days when the girls started to row in ’06, when they had to tramp through the snow to the old canoe club and row in a stationary boat under a leaky shed, from which all the water drained onto the rowers. ‘We owe everything we have,’ said Connie, ‘to our friends in the city’.”
The UW Daily; December 7, 1914