Ramsey County History – Summer 2018: “‘A Distinction Highly Prized and Not Easily Won:’ Upholding the Amateur Ideal at the Minnesota Boat Club”

“A Distinction Highly Prized and Not Easily Won:” Upholding the Amateur Ideal at the Minnesota Boat Club
Author: Sarah M. Risser

Established in 1870, the Minnesota Boat Club holds the distinction of being the first formal athletic association in the state. The club soon wrestled with the question of the difference between a professional and an amateur rower. Initially, it accepted the idea that an amateur rower’s livelihood was such that it prevented the individual from full-time training. This definition was compatible with their associated ideals of upright citizenship and superior social standing, In 1885, however, a seemingly harmless incident challenged this notion of amateur and when, in 1895, the club’s rowers had to compete against oarsmen from Canadian clubs, whose livelihoods were based on farming, logging, and the like, the organization revised its definition of amateur to exclude anyone who earned a living by manual labor. Today’s rowers are all amateurs, and the beauty of the sport is its own reward.
PDF of Risser article