Rowing: Bond helps build global dream team

Hamish Bond. Photo / Natalie Slade

Champion rower Hamish Bond has spent his career being chosen for crews; now he's had a taste of the other side of sport.

Bond has helped select a composite eight to compete at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta in Boston next month.

It is the regatta's 50th anniversary and Bond - Olympic and five-time world champion coxless pair rower with Eric Murray - was sounded out about putting together the best crew he could muster.

There was a stipulation: only one rower per country. Those approached jumped at the chance.

The only disappointment was that while British rowers were keen, their administrators shut the idea down, citing other commitments.

Still Bond, who went last year for the first time and competed in the mixed doubles with his partner Lizzie Travis, likes what he's helped put together, even if the names may not resonate with New Zealanders.

Rather than it be viewed as his eight, he checked with several people whose opinion he respects around the globe.

The interesting part was the same names kept popping up on the various lists.

Over the London Olympics in 2012 and this year's world championships in Amsterdam, the eight rowers won a combined two Olympic gold medals, two silver and two bronze; and three world champs golds and silvers, and a bronze.

"There's no one you could look at and argue they didn't deserve their place," Bond said.

"It's a great mix of people, from different boats and with different amounts of experience.

"I might be the oldest person in the boat at 28, which is a little disturbing," he quipped. "But we wanted to pick on current form, who's going fast now."

The seating plan hasn't been finalised but the idea of sitting in the bow, instead of his usual stroke seat, has a certain appeal for Bond, "so I can look back and observe the engine I've helped put together".

"It's probably the eight with the most power and ability I'll ever be part of. It will be a great challenge moulding eight different styles and approaches, because as they say a crew of champions doesn't make a champion crew."

The event is raced on a time trial basis, with crews setting off at 30-second intervals.

Bond is expecting a crew of top-class scullers - New Zealand Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale has competed several times - along with national teams from the United States, France and the Netherlands and leading American collegiate crews, such as Harvard and Yale.

Top eight

Crew for the Head of Charles River challenge, Boston, October 18-19:
Josh Dunkley-Smith (Australia), Colin McCabe (Canada), Francesco Fossi (Italy), Hamish Bond (NZL), Olivier Siegelaar (Netherlands), Henrik Rummel (US), Richard Schmidt (Germany), Jacob Barsoe (Denmark), Jack Carlson (cox, US).