Argonaut Rowing Club
Encyclopedia
The Argonaut Rowing Club is an amateur rowing
club in Toronto, Ontario
. It is located on Lake Ontario
at the foot of Dowling Avenue, south of Lake Shore Boulevard West, west of Exhibition Place
. The club was founded in 1872. In the past, the club fielded teams in ice hockey
and football
, and the football team continues today as the Toronto Argonauts
of the Canadian Football League
.
The current head coach is Stani Slavova.
, dates back to 1872, founded by a group of amateur rowsmen known as the Orioles, which had been participating in races in southern Ontario in the 1860s. The founders chose the blue colours of Oxford and Cambridge universities (the "Double Blue") as the club colours.
The original club house was at the foot of York Street in Toronto Harbour
. It was only large enough for one boat, replaced by a larger clubhouse which was destroyed by fire in 1879 and rebuilt. The club relocated to the current Dowling Avenue location in 1921 after the harbour location was redeveloped for port usage, purchasing land along the waterfront within the new breakwater protected shoreline. In 1947, a fire gutted the club house.
Argonaut rowing teams have represented Canada at several Olympics. Argonaut teams represented Canada at 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1950 while Argonaut members represented Canada at other Olympics. Club membership declined in the late 1970s and by 1979, the Argonauts only had four members represent the club at the Henley Regatta. The club made a recovery in the 1980s to the current state.
Football
Club members also participated in other sports including the football Argonauts, which was founded as the Argonaut Rugby Football Club in 1873. The football team eventually became a professional club and its revenues subsidized the Club as a whole. The football team was sold in the 1950s, and the funds used to set up a trust which funds rowing club activities.
Ice hockey
The club also fielded ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association
(OHA). The ice hockey team is credited by Frank Selke as the originators of the modern defense pairing. Until 1906, defensemen in ice hockey were known as the point and cover point. The two points lined up one behind the other at face offs. The Argonaut team moved the players to left and right in the positions used today. The setup is considered to be originated from the style of plays of the Argonauts. The team ran "set plays" reminiscent of football, and moved the players to fit the set plays. The Argonauts were very successful in the first decade of the 1900s and the style caught on in the OHA.
to the mouth of the Humber River within the break wall.
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
club in Toronto, Ontario
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. It is located on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
at the foot of Dowling Avenue, south of Lake Shore Boulevard West, west of Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...
. The club was founded in 1872. In the past, the club fielded teams in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, and the football team continues today as the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
.
The current head coach is Stani Slavova.
History
The club, the oldest and largest of its type in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, dates back to 1872, founded by a group of amateur rowsmen known as the Orioles, which had been participating in races in southern Ontario in the 1860s. The founders chose the blue colours of Oxford and Cambridge universities (the "Double Blue") as the club colours.
The original club house was at the foot of York Street in Toronto Harbour
Toronto Harbour
Toronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. It is a commercial port on the Great Lakes as well as a recreational harbour...
. It was only large enough for one boat, replaced by a larger clubhouse which was destroyed by fire in 1879 and rebuilt. The club relocated to the current Dowling Avenue location in 1921 after the harbour location was redeveloped for port usage, purchasing land along the waterfront within the new breakwater protected shoreline. In 1947, a fire gutted the club house.
Argonaut rowing teams have represented Canada at several Olympics. Argonaut teams represented Canada at 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1950 while Argonaut members represented Canada at other Olympics. Club membership declined in the late 1970s and by 1979, the Argonauts only had four members represent the club at the Henley Regatta. The club made a recovery in the 1980s to the current state.
Football
Club members also participated in other sports including the football Argonauts, which was founded as the Argonaut Rugby Football Club in 1873. The football team eventually became a professional club and its revenues subsidized the Club as a whole. The football team was sold in the 1950s, and the funds used to set up a trust which funds rowing club activities.
Ice hockey
The club also fielded ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
(OHA). The ice hockey team is credited by Frank Selke as the originators of the modern defense pairing. Until 1906, defensemen in ice hockey were known as the point and cover point. The two points lined up one behind the other at face offs. The Argonaut team moved the players to left and right in the positions used today. The setup is considered to be originated from the style of plays of the Argonauts. The team ran "set plays" reminiscent of football, and moved the players to fit the set plays. The Argonauts were very successful in the first decade of the 1900s and the style caught on in the OHA.
Facilities
The club uses a 4,000 metre long water course running along the "Western Beaches" of Toronto from the west side of Ontario PlaceOntario Place
Ontario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal waterfront park attraction located in Toronto, Ontario, and owned by the Crown in Right of Ontario. It is administered as an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just south of...
to the mouth of the Humber River within the break wall.