26 July 2024
By Tim Koch
Tim Koch tries to avoid using the title, The Franco-German Oar.
Sprechen sie Deutsch? Parlez-vous francais? If you are British or American, the chances are “nein” and “non” (the ability to order beer in either language does not count as “yes”). However, HTBS Types who do not speak German (the world’s 12th most common language with 135m speakers) and/or French (the world’s 5th most common language with 280m speakers) will still be able to enjoy the wonderful images in a documentary just released by Arte, the French-German public service TV channel dedicated to arts and culture.
About two-thirds of Arte’s broadcasts are original productions and their most recent such programme is Der Ruder-Achter – Geschichte eines Mythos (“The Rowing Eight – History of a Myth”) by the talented producer and director, Larissa Klinker. The more prosaic French title is Huit à bord – Une histoire de l’aviron, which translates as “Eight on board – A history of rowing”. It is also available with Spanish subtitles.
A translated preamble to the 44-minute documentary says:
The eight in rowing is considered a legend. It fascinates athletes, the media and spectators. Anyone who sits in the eight or has seen it once can feel the fascination: it’s about team spirit, harmony, the right technique, discipline and strength… Rowing, and especially the eight, have a long history and tradition that is not just about sport: political influence, social relationships and the long discrimination against women play a major role in the history of rowing. Before the Olympic Games, this documentary looks at the history and myth of the eight: its origins in Great Britain, its development in Europe and the fight of women for their place in rowing. The film looks behind the scenes of the most traditional rowing regattas in Great Britain: the Oxford-Cambridge race and the Henley Royal Regatta.
The preamble continues:
Using archive footage, rowing historians explain how rowing euphoria spread from England to Germany and France. Contemporary witnesses report on the beginnings of women’s rowing and the ban on women competing at the time. The documentary also tells the story of the German eight from its creation to the present day. The film follows the German men’s eight during its tough preparations for the Olympic competitions in Paris.
ARTE does not have an English language channel but a selection of its programmes is available with English subtitles on arte.tv/en. However, at present this does not seem to be the case for Der Ruder-Achter though I have no doubt that there would be an enthusiastic market for an English language version of this splendid programme in Britain, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Der Ruder-Achter/Huit à bord/El arte de la coordinación is available to view online here in German, here in French and here in German with Spanish subtitles.
The finals of the Paris Olympic Eights are on Saturday, 3rd August, at 10.50 CET (women) and 11.10 CET (men).
Editor’s Note: In the documentary, HTBS’s own Tim Koch is interviewed as is Jane Kingsbury, who has had several articles published on HTBS.