New Trophy Honors Andover-Kent Girls Crew Rivalr
Finally, an answer to the Boys' Dent Oars tradition.
October 22, 2008
— For Phillips Academy girls’ crew last Sunday night (and for years to come), there was joy and redemption in the unveiling of the handsome silver cup that launched a new—and long-overdue—tradition in the storied history of their sport: they have a trophy of their own to celebrate the winners of the annual rivalry. No more standing on the sidelines as the Andover and Kent boys crews exchange the fabled Dent Oars in the aftermath of their annual contests.
The Oars have been a part of Andover-Kent lore since the 1970s, when former Kent School crew coaches and colleagues Hart Perry and Stewart MacDonald pulled an old, but elaborate ornamental plaque that held two oars off a school wall, painted the oar blades in school colors, declared it a trophy for the boys’ first boat race against Andover, and thereby created a tradition. They named their masterpiece for John Dent, an English rower who had coached and taught for both schools. For more than 30 years, at the conclusion of the PA-Kent competitions, the unusual trophy has passed back and forth. The girls’ crews watched from the sidelines.
Not any more. Sunday night, at a dinner hosted by MacDonald and his wife, Tia Doggett ’79 (a rowing standout at Andover and Princeton), current and former coaches were presented with the newly inscribed Hart Perry Trophy, named in honor of MacDonald’s old friend and crew legend. Perry and MacDonald started the girls’ crew program at Kent back in 1973. But they were already famous in the crew world—MacDonald as the former Olympic coxswain in the 1968 and 1972 Games and then national team coach between 1981 and 1992; Perry as the long-time head of the crew program at Kent, a national figure in rowing organizations and a steward of the internationally known Henley Royal Regatta in Great Britain.
Kathryn L. Green, instructor in math and head coach of the Andover girls’ crew, rowed under MacDonald at Boston University, then coached under Perry after her BU coach recommended her for the position. She said she had wanted a trophy to honor the girls’ rivalry for some time, but found that MacDonald was already on the case. Then, he and his daughter Dylan found the perfect piece in the Chancery Lane silver vaults during a trip to London last summer. Created in 1889 by London silversmith Charles Stuart Harris, the impressive cup is inscribed with Perry’s name and rowing highlights along with the seal of each school. Over the coming winter, Green said, the results of all past girls’ first boat contests between Kent and Andover will be added around the bottom.
Green described the evening, held at the MacDonald’s home on the final night of the annual Head-of-the-Charles Regatta, as “an absolutely wonderful event.” She said Andover was well-represented by faculty members and crew coaches Peter Washburn, Dale Hurley, Bob Moss and Peter Saltsman. In her remarks, she described her more than 20-year association with Perry and MacDonald. She credited her BU coach, MacDonald, with “instilling in me a true passion and endless fascination with the sport,” then recalled his sending her to Perry, head of the rowing program at Kent, for her first job out of college. “I was scared to death of the legendary Hart Perry, who I think tolerated me for the first year with amused affection most of the time, and occasionally not-so-amused irritation.” She related her struggle learning to navigate a launch on the narrow Housatonic River, for which Perry began calling her “Crash.” In closing, she described the Hart Perry Cup as a perfect tribute to “the wonderful boat clubs, their unique histories, and all the amazing people who have contributed to them.”
Perry was reportedly delighted with the cup and the sentiment that gave it life. Clearly, Green said, he is a much-loved figure in a sport that engenders a fierce and enthusiastic camaraderie. Peter Washburn, head coach of the Andover boys’ crew, spoke of the special quality of the rivalry between Andover and Kent. “There is a great deal of mutual respect between these two programs, and the coaches are very close. These are races we really like and look forward to. And though I’m not a trophy fan, I’m delighted that the girls’ first boat can now be part of this tradition and celebrate the fact that this is not just another race, but something special.” Did he feel the Oars were outclassed by the exquisite silver Perry cup? “Oh no,” Washburn laughed, “I like the Dent Oars. At the end of the day you can throw it in the back of the truck, take it home and nail it to the boathouse wall.”
Stewart MacDonald, who stands at the origins of both trophies, called it “a fitting tribute to both schools and a wonderful piece of hardware for the girls to fight over for years to come.