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Dr. Bruce Chamberlain had a shell christened in his name on April 15.
Syracuse Rowing Team and Alumni Honor SARA Co-Founder
4/27/2006 10:56:39 AM | Men's Rowing
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association (SARA) co-founder Dr. Bruce Chamberlain ’41 received the great honor of having a racing shell christened in recognition of his contribution to the Syracuse rowing program following the Goes Trophy race at Onondaga Lake on April 15. The boat dedication took place following a spectacular day of rowing for the Orange as the varsity eight reclaimed the Goes Trophy for the first time since 1999, beating Navy and Cornell, and the team won the overall points title.
“It was absolutely fantastic having Dr. Chamberlain around the boathouse and interacting with our student-athletes and alumni,” said SU head coach Dave Reischman. “We talk a lot to our athletes about not only leaving their mark by rowing here for four years, but ensuring the future of the program by making a mark on it after they graduate. Dr. Chamberlain epitomizes this ideal.”
Organized in 1955 by Dr. Chamberlain and Dr. Thomas Kerr ’39, SARA’s purpose has been to support the interest in rowing at Syracuse University, the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Support from members of SARA has come in a variety of ways, from the giving of racing shells and equipment to the funding for training trips to maintain the traditionally high standards of Syracuse University rowing.
Dr. Chamberlain and Dr. Kerr were teammates on the men’s rowing team at SU and began talking about what they could do to help the program in 1953. Dr. Chamberlain considers his association with Syracuse University to be a great privilege.
“It’s been a great part of my life and continues to still be,” Chamberlain said. “I just felt so privileged by them asking for my name to be placed on a shell.”
With the heartfelt honor of having a shell christened in his name, Dr. Chamberlain is quick to point out that that Saturday morning in April was all about the student-athletes who provided himself and many other fans the thrill of victory by beating rivals Navy and Cornell for the Goes Trophy.
“That day meant a great deal to me with the guys winning,” he said. “Seeing them win that day pleased me a great deal, it was just beyond words to see the way they performed.”
The Syracuse rowing program has produced 11 Olympic Games participants, five selections to the Olympics as coaches and 13 Pan Am gold medalists. SU has been represented by a coach, rower or alternate at every Olympics since 1964. This season, the SU varsity eight has reclaimed all three trophies it has raced for (Ten Eyck Cup, Goes Trophy, Conlan Cup) and is currently ranked ninth in the country in the latest USRowing association coaches poll.
Syracuse University Director of the Orange Pack Lisa Crespo acknowledges the dedication Dr. Chamberlain has had for the SU men’s rowing team since his graduation from the university in 1941.
“Christening a racing shell with his (Dr. Chamberlain) name upon it is an honor that was long overdue,” Crespo said. “I know it meant a great deal to coach Dave Reischman, the student-athletes and all the alumni that have gotten to know Dr. Chamberlain over the years. This is a permanent reminder of the legacy he helped create for the SU rowing program.”
Dr. Chamberlain’s impact on the SU rowing program is something Reischman believes stretches out among the current and past members of the SU rowing team.
“If you talk to any alumni from the last 60 years of Syracuse rowing, they all have a Dr. Chamberlain story,” Reischman said. “The number of lives he has touched and the reverence people have for him is amazing.”
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