We at OAR Northwest would like to congratulate Frank Cunningham for his US Rowing Medal of Honor award.
According to US Rowing, the award is…”Given in recognition to a member of the rowing community in the U.S. who has rendered conspicuous service to or accomplished extraordinary feats in rowing. It is the highest honor USRowing can bestow.”
Frankly (ha!), Frank was one of the key individuals, along with Bill Tytus and W.T. Arnold, who taught me how to scull on Lake Union and Lake Washington. His methodologies and analogies of rowing allowed me to understand clearly how to move a single on the water. Many mornings I would arrive to work late due to talking (it is more appropriate to call it active listening) with Frank and absorbing suggestions and stories about rowing after practice. The man has too many important things to pass along for people to let work get in the way!
To this day I still enjoy rowing and try to row as much as my schedule allows me while flight testing; whereas most individuals and teammates I know have ceased rowing after University or National team stints, I have slowly begun to enjoy rowing for its beauty and simplicity. It used to mainly be about pulling my brains out and beating the bigger man out on the water. Now it has become a place of solitude and respite, allowing me to focus on one task and ignore the swirling thoughts of modern life, slowly eeking out efficiencies in my stroke, trying to attain that one perfect stoke. Frank said he attained his one perfect stroke in his 70s after decades of trying.
I also have probably the most interesting stories of anyone who has ever met Frank. I’ll share that story for another time, but if anyone wants to give a guess, leave a response.- Richard
Richard’s story is similar to Greg’s and mine. We too learned the nuances of rowing from Frank and Bill in the same boathouse around the same time as they helped build on our love and skill for the sport that had begun in University. What is certainly less well known in the sport of rowing is that Frank, along with Bill Tytus were advisers on OAR Northwest’s 2006 trip. Their incredible breadth of knowledge extends to all rowing boats. With just a look at our bare hull they were able to give us advice on how to row this boat and the types of hardware we should try to build and find. Their inspiration from symmetrical blades, angle of rowing, and type of stroke (more upper body, less legs = an all day stroke that can be repeated for days on end), and a host of others were many of the suggestions that proved true out on the ocean.
There is a lot to rowing, and Frank would be the first to admit that he does not know it all, but he knows a lot. We are lucky to have been your students. – Jordan
Here is a great Youtube clip that some friends have been posting on Facebook recently with Frank narrating.
Congratulations Frank.
OAR Northwest