#PocockDay Stories
What the Pocock name means to me, by Katie Kusske
On August 14th, 2004, Gary Locke made this date extremely special to my family & rowers in the PNW when he pronounced it "George Pocock Rowing Foundation Day" in Washington State. Why not keep the tradition of rowing accessible for all ages with camps, learning how important fitness is to our bodies, so one can "become one with the boat" which is what exactly the Pocock Rowing Foundation is all about. Also going outside of the foundation to work & support so many other Boat clubs in the region.
Being George Pocock's Grand-Daughter, working in his shop on Northlake Way in the late 1970s was a very unique adventure that I will never forget. The Pocock Foundation family is doing such an incredible job at networking with all the local and some distant rowing clubs here in the PNW, this day is a celebration of how far the rowing community has come and will continue to grow for adults & youth rowers.
"Rowing a race is an art, not a frantic scramble, it must be rowed with head power as well as muscular power. From the first stroke, all thoughts of the other crew must be blocked out. Your thoughts must be directed to you and your own boat, always positively, never negatively. Row your optimum power every stoke, and try and increase the optimum. As fit as you, when everyday strength is gone, can draw on a mysterious reservoir of power far greater. Then it is you who can reach for the stars. That is the only way championships are made. That is the legacy rowing can leave you." -George Pocock at Henley in England.
What the Pocock name means to me, by Heidi Danilchik
The Pocock family embraced inclusivity in a time when rowing was a gate-kept sport. To this day, the Pocock legacy means opening the doors of the Boathouse to everyone who is drawn to it. By creating a community in rowing comprised of a multitude of face and stories, the sport is only elevated.
What the Pocock name means to me, by Lenny O’Donnell (Rowing Archives)
"George Y. Pocock and Stanley R. Pocock are the only two boat builders enshrined in the National Rowing Hall of Fame. They are the only two men in history who have both built Olympic gold-medal winning shells and coached crews that have won gold medals in the Olympic Games. Because of them, the Pocock name has been recognized as the highest standard of excellence in the sport of rowing for over a century, and their legacy is poised to endure and even expand over the next century and beyond."
Better than that is a quote from Al Ulbrickson, the UW Head Rowing coach from 1928-1958 (and, of course, the coach of the 1936 crew that won the Olympic 8+ in Berlin). I've attached a graphic that I used on social media that you are welcome to use if you would like.
"George Pocock has contributed more to the betterment of American rowing than any man that has been connected with the sport in the past fifty years. I do not think I would be far wrong if I said he has contributed more than all others combined. Of equal importance to this material contribution to the up-grading of our sport has been the impartial giving of his knowledge of rowing to all who sought his counsel. He has always been unstinting in the giving of his time, energy and thought to the betterment and expansion of rowing."
Al Ulbrickson, 1956.
