In an irregular series, we would like to introduce you to the Hamburg rowing clubs. This time, the Rowing Club “Allemannia of 1866”, which will celebrate its 150th birthday in 2016.

The RCA is the third oldest rowing club in the city and is located on Gurlittinsel, in the middle of St. Georg.

Ambitious rowing remains a high priority even in adulthood. Two men’s teams from the Rowing Bundesliga are based here and are an integral part of club life. Just recently, a new racing eight was put into service and ceremonially christened with media attention. Please read for yourself what idea the team had for this…

Finding a sponsor for a team outside of professional sports is usually an extremely difficult task. It becomes even more difficult when it’s a sport that receives little public attention. If, on top of that, the sponsor has no affinity for the sport, it becomes almost impossible in amateur sports.

The two Bundesliga teams of RC “Allemannia of 1866”, however, were exceptionally lucky. A well-known Hamburg pawn shop was brought “on board” as a sponsor, which allowed the team to focus more on the sport than on organizational matters over the past two years. When the sponsor then also decided to donate a brand-new eight from Empacher to the team, the team wanted to show its gratitude in a very special way, beyond their sporting successes, and say thank you.

So, it was decided to christen the eight in front of the company headquarters, in the heart of Hamburg city. Not content with just that, the boat was to be carried on hands to the christening, much like a bride carried over the threshold. On this special day, the boat was rowed from the Allemannia boathouse to the Binnenalster, where a delegation of other team members was already waiting to accompany the eight on its journey through Hamburg’s city center. When the boat was lifted directly out of the water at Jungfernstieg, passers-by were quite astonished to see the dimensions of the boat outside its natural environment. The excitement grew even more when the procession then made its way across Hamburg’s Jungfernstieg towards the City Hall. From Rathausmarkt, they even dared to take the boat into the heavily frequented Mönckebergstraße, to then give a new twist to the everyday hustle and bustle among shopping-crazed passers-by.

After almost 1.5 km through the city center and thousands of cell phone photos later, the eight reached its destination and was received a second time in front of the sponsor’s headquarters by invited guests and the then Senator for Interior and Sport, Michael Neumann. It was an unforgettable event for the perception of rowing, for the Olympic commitment of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and for all involved.

You can find a selection of more pictures here!