Interview Series - Graham Watt

“Dudley Story won gold at Mexico in my first year of rowing. I remember clearly being at the rowing club one day when one of my crew mates came hooning down the hill on his bike with his transistor radio to his ear yelling that New Zealand had won a gold medal in rowing at Mexico. ”

— Graham Watt

GRAHAM WATT

Graham is a Club coach running the senior boys programme. He sat down with Brian Morpeth recently to answer a few questions about his rowing life, coaching and those who have had the most influence on his rowing career.

How did you become involved in rowing?

I was at Westlake Boys High in the 3rd form and the teacher in charge of rowing who happened to be one of my teachers, invited me to trial for a novice four. Being unfit and asthmatic I declined the offer but thanks to his persistence I ended up having a try. I loved it, made the crew and my asthma and lack of fitness gradually became a thing of the past. I still feel that I owe a great deal to that teacher because of the path he set me on.  

What was school rowing like then? 

The things that stand out in my mind were heavy wooden boats, no girls, no sculling, travelling by bus to regattas with boats on top and heaps less training than today’s school rowers. 

Did you carry on into club rowing after school?

I did do one short summer season for North shore after my first university year but after that my summers were spent working on farms as a requirement of my Veterinary degree. That put an end to my rowing. After graduating I longed to row again for North Shore during their golden era as I worked pretty close to Lake Pupuke, but due to significant after hours work demands of my job I had to put rowing behind me. 

Do you still have regrets about not being able to carry on with rowing at that stage of life?

No doubt I would have had some good times had I done so, even if I hadn’t been Olympian material. Instead I did other things which have been equally rewarding.  

Are there any people who you encountered during your rowing years who still stand out in your mind?

Dudley Story won gold at Mexico in my first year of rowing. I remember clearly being at the rowing club one day when one of my crew mates came hooning down the hill on his bike with his transistor radio to his ear yelling that New Zealand had won a gold medal in rowing at Mexico.  In the course of time I got to learn about Dudley. Some months later he visited us at the club and spoke about his Olympic experience and we were spell bound.  I still clearly remember him sitting amongst us telling his stories in his down to earth manner.

Brian Hawthorne was my coach in my second season. My crew was the first crew he ever coached. He knew very little then and we did poorly but he was a quick learner and he eventually went on to coach North Shore club crews to many national titles a few years later and also the gold medal four at the LA Olympics.

Now that I am coaching and rowing again I have regular contact with both of them, because after 45 years they are still involved. They seem little changed.  

How did you come to be involved with rowing again?

Although I was busy with other interests in my mid-life such as kayaking and running, I never forgot the good times I had rowing so when I came to live in Whakatane I took advantage of being close to a rowing club again. Eventually I became involved with the Masters rowing in about 2001 and then started coaching about 2003.  

After more than 10 years coaching and having a number of successful crews, do you feel as though you understand what makes a crew go fast?

Little by little I am getting a greater understanding of the intricacies of sculling, but feel that there is still so much more to learn. There are many occasions when things get thrown at you that make you still feel like a novice coach. I may be a Master rower but will never fully master rowing.