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The Kent School Boat Club was founded in 1922 on the banks of the Housatonic River as Kent School's boys rowing team. KSBC has two varsity boats and two junior varsity boats, which races in a few of the varsity races. KSBC only races in the spring, and conducts its spring training in Tampa during the school's spring vacation. In June 2010, KSBC won gold in the Men's Eight at the U.S Rowing Youth National Championship.
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History and Tradition
Kent School is known far beyond the banks of the Housatonic River in Kent, Connecticut. Kent is well known at England's Henley Royal Regatta, where its crews have rowed many times since first winning the Thames Cup in 1933. Kent was the first American secondary school to race at the Henley Royal Regatta, in 1927. The NEIRA (New England Interscholastic Rowing Association) championship silver bowls for the first and second boats bear the names of Kent's founder and first head coach, Father Frederick H. Sill and his successor, "Tote" Dixon Walker. Every KSBC oarsman knows the importance of sportsmanship and excellence to the school. Father Sill was a coxswain at Columbia University and built his school directly on the Housatonic so that with a river running through it, there could be rowing one day.
While Kent has had five headmasters since 1906, KSBC has had only four coaches, including Father Sill, "Tote" Walker `19, W. Hartwell "Hart" Perry and Eric Houston `80.
Kent's impact on scholastic and collegiate rowing is vastly disproportionate to its size. Among others, Hart Perry was president of the NAAO and was a founder of the National Rowing Foundation and the Rowing Hall of Fame in Mystic, CT. He remained the only American steward at the Henley RR until his death 2010. Steve Gladstone `60 also rowed at Syracuse, and has coached rowing at Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Cal Berkeley, California Rowing Club, and currently at Yale. Bill Stowe `58 stroked the Vesper Boat Club eight to Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964, and coached at Columbia and the Coast Guard. Bill Pickard '67, rowed on a number of national teams, is a co-founder of the Pocock Rowing Foundation, and served on the committee that rewrote the NAAO and National Women's Rowing Assn constitutions to merge the two organizations and create the US Rowing Assn in 1979. Fred Schoch `69 has won many national and international races, and directs the world's largest rowing event, the Head of the Charles Regatta.Curtis Jordan `70, the former head of Princeton's rowing program, is currently serving as the High Performance Director of USRowing. Thad Bennett '71 coxed the Kent eight at Henley in '71 and served as the first Executive Director of US Rowing. Many others have rowed in world championships and in the Olympics, both establishing Kent's legacy in the 20th century and ensuring it will continue into the next one.
For its success and prestige in the rowing world, one of the guest rooms at the famed Leander Club is themed after the school and boat club.
Old Boathouse
The First boat house used by KSBC was nothing more than a large shed. Today one would pass it by with little thought of its tremendous history. It is located on the other side of the Macedonia Brook farther down river than the newer boat houses.
The Second boat house has been used by KSBC for more than 50 years. Unlike the original boat house this boat house had a permanent foundation and consisted of two floors: the first floor is a bay for all of the boats; the basement has the erg room and the locker room for boys. It continues to provide the location for daily storage of the boats.
New Boathouse
Kent's new Rowing Center was dedicated in 2005 and provides oarsmen with a first class, state of the art rowing facility. The new boathouse has a rowing tank, a training room with ergometers, locker rooms for both boys' and girls' crews, offices for coaches, and a trophy room. Hanging above the rowing machines is the "Frederick H. Sill," the wooden eight oared shell that Kent's 1972 crew rowed to victory in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at the HRR.The 1972 Kent crew is the subject of a memoir by the boat's bow oar, Rick Rinehart, titled "Men of Kent: Ten Boys, a Fast Boat, and the Coach Who Made Them Champions" (The Lyons Press, September 2010).
2016
The Boys' team won the New England points trophy, with all three boats medalling. The 3V earned bronze, the 2V gold, and the 1V silver. The Girls' earned 3V silver, 2V Bronze, and 1V gold.
2015
The Girls' team won the team point trophy at NEIRA, with the first boat finishing second while both the second and third boat won gold medals. The girls' first boat continued their season with a trip to England to race in the Henley Women's Regatta where they finished second to Headington School. The Boys' first boat only dropped one race the whole season to the Lawrenceville School before winning NEIRAs. The second boat went undefeated, capping of the season by also winning NEIRAs. As well, after the success of all the boats at NEIRAs, the team won the New England Points Trophy.
2014
The Kent Boys' 1st Boat came second nationally at the first NSRA regatta in Saratoga, NY while the 2nd Boat won NEIRAs, the New England rowing championship.
2013
The Kent School Boys' 1st and 2nd boats both placed second at NEIRA's.
2011
The Kent School Boys' and Girls' Crew both came second at NEIRA's.
2010
In 2010, Kent Boys' Crew won the New Englands points trophy and placed 1st at Youth Nationals. They were runners up to Eton College in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta.
2009
Kent's 1V came 2nd at NEIRA's and continued onto place 3rd at USRowing Youth Nationals. They raced at Henley in the Temple Cup challenge and were eliminated in the quarter finals by Melbourne University.
1986
Kent's 1V came 1st at Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia and 2nd at NEIRA's.