Henley Royal Regatta rowing stopwatch
Date1870-1930
Object number00040467
NameStopwatch
MediumChrome, metal
Dimensions75 x 58 x 15 mm
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis Henley Royal Regatta timekeeper's stopwatch has a chrome case and was made by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co Ltd. The watch has a single dial with a sweep hand that records 0-10 seconds and strokes per minute. A subsidiary dial records minutes. The timekeeper records the interval for three strokes of the crew and reads the strokes per minute rate from the outer dial.HistoryA stopwatch allowed coaches and race officials to accurately record times of crew performances in training and competition over a set distance. Unlike chronometers, stopwatches were designed to measure finite intervals with accuracy.
Rowing technology remained fairly primitive until the 1950s when Professor Frank Cotton at the University of Sydney invented the ergometer, enabling the coach to measure a rower's stroke technique and power. The development of computer technology in the 1980s and 1990s led to the sophisticated electronic equipment that dominates rowing today.SignificanceThe watch is a rare example of rowing technology used for coaching and racing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
1752-1800
19th century