Viennese rowing club Pirat
The Viennese rowing club Pirat (WRC) is one of the most traditional rowing clubs in Austria. The third oldest rowing club in Austria, founded in 1875, has a long history of success, both nationally and internationally. After the founding years, the time of the pioneers on the then still unregulated Danube , spin-offs and mergers, the WRC Pirate now has two boathouses in which both racing and popular sports are practiced and is one of the largest rowing clubs in Austria.
The Pirate has been Austria's largest rowing club since 2009.
history
The founding period 1875–1900
In 1875, the founding members signed the application to the Lower Austrian Lieutenancy for approval of the statutes of the association under the 1st President Anton Ritter von Henriquez, giving the “Wiener Ruder-Club Pirat” legal existence. A year later the first boathouse was completed in Langenzersdorf near Vienna, which was to be the home of the pirates for 100 years.
The years up to 1900 were marked by mergers and splits. There were 18 members of the Pirat rowing club who founded the Wiener Cyclistenclub in 1883 , from which the Viennese Sports Club , which still exists today, emerged in 1907 . At the end of the 19th century the club had 39 members, 9 rowing boats and a sailing boat.
War years
The pirate gained strength through the merger with the “Union” rowing club and in 1912 and 1913 he entered the major races in Vienna, Budapest and Straubing in almost all types of boat and even represented Austria at the Olympic Games in Stockholm through his master Alfred Heinrich .
During the First World War , 96 out of 115 members were in military service, and numerous rowers died. But as early as 1919, club operations were resumed. Two names are representative of the successes of this time: Paul Solomon and Richard Ruckensteiner , who belonged to the rowing elite in the German-speaking area.
The generally catastrophic economic situation around 1930 also hit the pirate. They forced the club to sell a boathouse, which had a drastic impact on racing operations. In 1939 the WRC Pirate merged with the “Triton” rowing club and took over a boathouse on the Old Danube . New perspectives, especially for racing, opened up at this new, second location.
The years of the Second World War brought the rowing business to a standstill. The effects of the war and the Russian occupation severely affected the boathouses and the boat inventory.
1945–1980
After the club was rebuilt, it was finally possible to celebrate successes again. Rainer Scheithauer won the first World Championship medal for the pirate in Joannina in 1970, Vera Sommerbauer represented the club at the 1978 World Rowing Championships in New Zealand and Raimund Schmidt took part in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
Due to the construction of the Vienna Danube bank motorway , the boathouse in Langenzersdorf had to be demolished. In 1975 a new, spacious clubhouse for the members of the Pirat was built two kilometers up the Danube from the original location (on the left bank at river kilometer 1940.9) opposite Klosterneuburg.
One of the most prominent members of this period was the book author, journalist and first to climb the 8201 m high Cho Oyu , Herbert Tichy .
1980 until today
This was one of the most successful periods in the history of the WRC Pirate. A strong women's team was built, which rowed 27 Austrian national championships during this time. For the men, Christoph Schmölzer was the outstanding athlete. He was four times world champion, twice vice world champion, once he took third place and with his 23 Austrian national championship titles is the most successful member in pirate history.
In 2006 the association had almost 300 members.
flag
The red, white and black flag was taken from a picture depicting a notorious corsair ship. The athletes' dress originally consisted of white and blue camisoles based on the Kuk Navy . However, these violated the adjustment regulations of the military and had to be changed to blue and red striped camisoles (colors of the Trieste dock workers) on the recommendation of the rear admiral. The colors have been retained to this day.
successes
World championships
| year | Boat type | placement | Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 - World Cup Lucerne | Double scull | 9th place | Eva Maria Sekanina in Rgm. with DOB |
| 1974 - World Cup Lucerne | Two without stems | 9th place | Peter Bredl, Gerhard Hirt |
| 1978 - World Cup New Zealand | Double scull | 10th place | Vera Sommerbauer in Rgm. with Wiking Spital |
| 1982 - World Cup Lucerne | LGW double scull | 11th place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with GMU |
| 1982 - World Cup Lucerne | Double scull | 11th place | Vera Sommerbauer in Rgm. with HSV-OÖ |
| 1983 - World Cup Duisburg | LGW double scull | 9th place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with GMU |
| 1984 - World Cup Montreal | LGW double scull | 9th place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with GMU |
| 1985 - WM Hazewinkel | LGW One | 6th place | Vera Sommerbauer |
| 1986 World Cup Nottingham | LGW double quad without stm. | 7th place | Christoph Schmölzer / Roland Vogtenhuber in Rgm. with DOL |
| 1986 World Cup Nottingham | LGW One | 9th place | Vera Sommerbauer |
| 1987 - World Cup Copenhagen | LGW double quad without stm. | 4th Place | Christoph Schmölzer / Roland Vogtenhuber in Rgm. with DOL |
| 1987 - World Cup Copenhagen | LGW One | 12th place | Vera Sommerbauer |
| 1989 - World Cup Bled | LGW double scull | 1st place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with friezes |
| 1989 - World Cup Bled | Foursome without stems | 11th place | Johannes Gotsmy in Rgm. with LIA / ISTER / WILL |
| 1990 - World Cup Tasmania | LGW double scull | 3rd place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with friezes |
| 1991 - World Cup Vienna | LGW double scull | 2nd place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with friezes |
| 1991 - World Cup Vienna | LGW eighth | 6th place | Christian Joukhadar in Rgm with WILL / LIA / STEIN |
| 1991 - World Cup Vienna | Double fours | 14th place | Johannes Gotsmy in Rgm with NAT / LIA / GMU |
| 1992 - World Cup Montreal | LGW double scull | 2nd place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with friezes |
| 1993 - WM Roudnice | LGW quad | 1st place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with LIA / FRIE / OTT |
| 1994 - Indianapolis World Cup | LGW quad | 1st place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with LIA / FRIE / OTT |
| 1994 - Indianapolis World Cup | One | 11th place | Birgit Reindl |
| 1995 - World Cup Tampere | LGW quad | 1st place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with LIA / FRIE / OTT |
| 1995 - World Cup Tampere | LGW double scull | 10th place | Birgit Reindl in Rgm. with ISTER |
| 1997 - World Cup Aiguebelette | Double scull | 11th place | Birgit Reindl in Rgm. with DOW |
| 1998 - World Cup Cologne | Double fours | 11th place | Birgit Reindl in Rgm. with DOW / NAUT |
Olympic games
| year | Boat type | placement | Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 Stockholm | One | disqualified for collision | Dr. Alfred Heinrich |
| 1952 Helsinki | One | Reunion | Dkfm. Adolf Scheithauer |
| 1960 Rome | Double scull | Reunion | Gottfried Dittrich, Adolf Löblich |
| 1972 Munich | Eighth | 12th place | Peter Bredl, Helmut Schodl, Franz Nitsche as members of the Austria eight |
| 1980 Moscow | One | 11th place | Raimund Schmidt |
| 1984 Los Angeles | Double scull | 7th place | Vera Sommerbauer in Rgm. with HSV OÖ |
| 1992 Barcelona | Double scull | 2nd place | Christoph Zerbst / Arnold Jonke (Wiking Spital) |
| 1996 Atlanta | LGW foursome without stems. | 12th place | Christoph Schmölzer in Rgm. with LIA / ISTER / VIL |
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 1 ″ N , 16 ° 25 ′ 59.8 ″ E