Steve Fairbairn
Encyclopedia
Jesus College Boat Club (Cambridge)
Jesus College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Jesus College, Cambridge. Over the years, it has been consistently successful, with the 1st Men's VIII never having dropped below 12th place in the May Bumps and 11th position in the Lent Bumps...
, Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Thames Rowing Club
Thames Rowing Club
Thames Rowing Club is a rowing club situated on the River Thames in Putney, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1860.-Club colours:Red, white and black in stripes, the white stripe lying between the red and black and being of half their width....
and London Rowing Club
London Rowing Club
London Rowing Club is one of the oldest rowing clubs on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom.It is regarded as one of the most exclusive and successful rowing clubs in Britain. and its Patron is HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh....
in the early decades of the 20th century.
Early life
Fairbairn was born in ToorakToorak, Victoria
Toorak is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district located on a rise on the south side of a bend in the Yarra River. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
the son of George Fairbairn (1815-1895), an early Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
pioneer. Fairbairn was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
, and Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
, where he was regarded a good Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er.
Rowing career
While reading Law at Jesus College, CambridgeJesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, Fairbairn rowed for Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the Boat Race, in 1882, 1883, 1886 and 1887. He also raced regularly with Jesus College Boat Club
Jesus College Boat Club (Cambridge)
Jesus College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Jesus College, Cambridge. Over the years, it has been consistently successful, with the 1st Men's VIII never having dropped below 12th place in the May Bumps and 11th position in the Lent Bumps...
, with success in the Cambridge University bumps races
Bumps race
A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each boat attempting to catch and "bump" the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind....
and Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
, where they won the Grand Challenge Cup
Grand Challenge Cup
The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and most prestigious event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs...
. He also won the hammer throwing and putting the weight at the Freshmen's sports. He later rowed with Thames Rowing Club in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Fairbairnism
Fairbairn was an early proponent of training his crews to slide in their seats to facilitate leg-drive. He had realised that the secret to world-champion sculler Ned HanlanNed Hanlan
Edward "Ned" Hanlan was a World Champion professional sculler, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Early life:...
's uncanny successes was not that he rowed a longer stroke, but rather that he used his legs to great effect during the stroke. He was also an advocate of fitting longer slides into boats to better allow the use of the legs. Fairbairn's observations led him to develop a revolutionary rowing style featuring concurrent use of the legs, back and arms at the catch.
He also coached that crews should not focus unduly on positioning their bodies according to rigid rules but should instead concentrate on the movement of the blade, creating an easy, flowing movement. His philosophy was that rowing, when done well, should be a sublimely enjoyable experience.
All of these features of his coaching are referred to as "Fairbairnism". There is continuing debate among rowing coaches and historians as to whether Fairbairnism better describes a style of rowing or philosophy of coaching.
Influence
Fairbairn was an iconoclastIconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
with strong views and great charisma. Opinions of him and his methods tended to be extreme.
In the 1920s and 1930s, many coaches followed his lead completely. Fairbairn corresponded widely and wrote four volumes on coaching; his views were therefore adopted by many coaches across the globe.
However, others felt Fairbairnism to be anathema to the principles of "English Orthodox" style. To these observers, Fairbairn's crews rowed sloppily.
The schism between "Orthodoxy" and "Fairbairnism" had largely disappeared from rowing by the 1940s. Fairbairn's books were collected, reprinted in 1951 and again in 1990.
Distance training and head racing
Fairbairn was a strong believer in the benefits of distance training; part of his philosophy was that "mileage makes champions". As such he developed the concept of the head raceHead race
A head race is a time-trial competition in the sport of rowing, also known as crew to a few USA organizations. Head races are typically held in the fall and spring seasons. These events draw many athletes as well as observers...
, a long-distance race against the clock to mark the end of winter training, thus encouraging crews to train over longer distances.
In 1926 he founded the Head of the River Race
Head of the River Race
The Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4.25 mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...
, for men's eights held annually since on The Championship Course
The Championship Course
The stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England is a well-established course for rowing races, most famously the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. It is often referred to as The Championship Course...
on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Similarly he donated a trophy for a head race to be held annually on the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
. "The Fairbairn Cup" (known colloquially as "Fairbairns") is the annual race held on the first Thursday and Friday after the end of the University of Cambridge's Michaelmas Full Term (typically early in December). The race is organised by Jesus College Boat Club in Cambridge.
Memorial
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 16 May 1938. His ashes rest beneath the shadow of Jesus College chapel. A portrait by James Quinn hangs in the college. A duplicate of the Quinn portrait hangs in Thames Rowing Club's Putney clubhouse.
Fairbairn married Eleanor Sharwood, daughter of Sydney Sharwood, on 18 November 1891 at Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria. They had two sons of whom Ian Fairbairn
Ian Fairbairn
Ian Fairbairn was a British financier and rower who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.Fairbairn was the son of Stephen Fairbairn and his wife Eleanor née Sharwood. He was educated at Eton, and then attended Royal Military College Sandhurst, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the...
was an Olympic rower and financier who originated the unit trust
Unit trust
A unit trust is a form of collective investment constituted under a trust deed.Found in Australia, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK, unit trusts offer access to a wide range of securities....
. Fairbairn was also the uncle of George Eric Fairbairn who won a silver medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
A memorial to Fairbairn is situated on the southern bank of the Thames between Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
and Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
. This memorial, a stone obelisk popularly known as the Mile Post, is exactly one mile from the Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
end of the Championship Course. In the Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
and Wingfield Sculls the Mile Post is a formal intermediate timing point, and it marks one mile from the finish of the Head of the River Race.
A bronze bust of Fairbairn by George Drinkwater is the winner's trophy for the Head of the River Race.