page_title: Charles E. Courtney
section_title: 1895 Henley Royal Regatta
hierarchical_section_title: Charles E. Courtney / Coaching career / 1895 Henley Royal Regatta
caption_attribution_description: English: finish line of the 1895 Henley Royal Regatta
context_page_description: Charles Edward Courtney was an American rower and rowing coach from Union Springs, New York. A carpenter by trade, Courtney was a nationally known amateur rower. Courtney never lost a race as an amateur and finished a total of 88 victories.
  In 1877, he moved from an amateur to a professional rower, a decision that Courtney would later regret. His professional career was marred by controversy and accusations including cowardice and race fixing. His professional career was best remembered for his controversial losses to Ned Hanlan.
  As his rowing career wound down, Courtney became involved in coaching at Cornell University. He coached Cornell's rowing team from 1883 to 1920. His crews won 14 of 24 varsity eight-oar titles at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta. He kept his position until he died in the summer of 1920.
context_section_description: In 1895, Courtney and his Cornell varsity crew competed in the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. At the time, the Grand Challenge Cup was regarded as the most important race in the rowing world. Around 100,000 people would watch the event annually. The Regatta was rowed against a slow current river, was wide enough for two boats, and was done in heats. In 1891, the Leader Club, one of the most powerful clubs in England, set the one-mile (1.6 km) and 550 yards (500 m) course record of 6 minutes and 51 seconds. Before traveling to England, Cornell's crew did the Cup distance in 6 minutes 56 seconds in still water.
  Courtney and the team left New York City on May 29, 1895, on the Steamship Paris for the race. The early departure would allow his team to practice in England for five weeks. Courtney, however, was not able to watch any of the races due to an illness.
  Cornell's first heat was versus the Leander Club crew of London, England, coached by Rudolph C. Lehmann. The members of the Leander Club were composed almost entirely of former Oxford and Cambridge oarsman. They had won the Cup seven times and were the four-time defending champion. Leander was considered the best crew in England, and was the favorite to win the Cup in 1895. The race was a contrast of rowing styles. Cornell rowed the Courtney stroke, which was short and choppy compared to the Leander's long and sweeping stroke. The heat was marred by controversy right from the start. Cornell and Leander crew took up their positions at the starting point. When the umpire asked if the crews were ready, F. D. Colson, the Cornell coxswain, answered "yes". The Leander crew insisted two members shouted "No" and C. W. Kent, the crew's stroke, held up his hand.  The umpire insisted that someone from the English crew answered that they were ready and then gave the command to start the race. Both crews shot out from the starting line. Cornell rowed with strong even strokes, but only half of the Leander club was rowing. At that point, Leander stopped rowing, and C. F. Beggs and C. W. Kent, the Leander coxswain and stroke respectively, protested to the umpire. When the umpire did not tell Cornell to stop or return to the start, Cornell continued rowing at a leisurely pace, followed by the referee's boat. Cornell finished the course of one mile (1.6 km) and 550 yards (500 m) in 8 minutes and 11 seconds. This was more than a minute over the time they were rowing in practice. When they crossed the finish line, they were declared the winner of the heat by the umpire. The Leander crew protested the Cornell victory, stating that they notified the umpire before he gave the notice to start the race. They appealed it to the "steward", who met at the end of the day but they ruled in favor of Cornell victory. They adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That the committee, while deeply regretting the most unfortunate misunderstand, feel that they must abide by the laws of boat racing and cannot review the decision of the umpire or starter."
  Cornell moved to the semi-finals of the Grand challenge cup by defeating Leander. In its second race against Trinity Hall from Cambridge, things did not go well for Courtney's crew. Cornell came off the line fast, pulling 24 strokes in a half-minute. Cornell took the lead by a few feet. At the quarter-mile, they had a third of a boat length lead and increased it to a half a length at the half-mile mark. Trinity surged and by the time the boats reached the mile mark, they had passed Cornell. Shortly after Trinity took the lead, a sudden collapse occurred in the Cornell boat. The blades of the oars went flying, Hager (No. 3) and Fennell (No. 5) missed the water with their oars and almost fell out of the boat. Trinity continued the last 300 yards (270 m) to victory by seven lengths.  Fennell had caught a crab and the handle of his oar struck his side, inflicting injury including bruising his groin. Despite the pain, he continued to row even though he showed signs of exhaustion. After the race, Fennell was placed in doctors' c
caption: View of the finish of the 1895 Henley Royal Regatta
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