Amateur Sportsman

In these days of creeping professionalism among many college athletes it is refreshing to run across a young man like Charles C. Lund II '60 of Chestnut Hill, Mass., who participates just for the fun of it. Charlie, an able, well-rounded competitor, feels this way about all sports, but he waxes especially eloquent over rowing; and the hard work he has put in with the crew has brought him the recognition of being elected president of this year's Rowing Club and earlier being named undergraduate coach of the freshman lightweight crews. Though his strength and ability would have made him a great asset to a varsity shell, as one of the regular coaches put it, "Charlie was made a coach because we felt he knew far more about rowing than anyone else in the Club who might have been eligible."

And this ability is certainly not without precedent in the Lund family. Charlie comes from a long line of oarsmen, all Harvard men for that matter, and he was well acquainted with the sport from his days at the Middlesex School before coming to Hanover. Once at Dartmouth, he made the freshman heavies, and in his sophomore year he was on the varsity lightweight shell. For the following two years he has served as an undergraduate coach.

It takes a lot of work and know-how to whip a winning crew into shape, and the fine work of Charlie and many others in the Rowing Club has paid off in the growing strength of Dartmouth crews with every passing year. The Rowing Club is just what it says - a club. The members pay dues and their own transportation to away races, and in addition they often must finance a good bit of their own equipment. The DCAC helps by paying the regular coach's salary and covering a few other expenses, but most of the load must be borne by the club members. Add to this the fact that, no matter what the weather, the crew is usually out on the water by mid-February, using that ice-free stretch of the Connecticut River just below Wilder Dam, and it's easy to see that the boys must have to love it to participate.

However, according to Charlie, these small tribulations are just part of the sport's attraction. Out on the water on a cold and blustery day, he says, you know that everyone else in your shell is just as chilled and weary as you are, and still you stay right in there plugging. It's easy to slack off on the oar during practice or a race, but each man knows that seven others are depending upon him and he keeps right on pulling his share. Charlie claims that this sort of spirit creates a deep bond among boat crews, and he's seen a lot of shy and reticent boys come out of themselves under the influence of this fellowship.

Rowing is not like other sports with a lot of individual stars, he adds, nor does it take excess brawn or height or a particular build. Anyone with a normal physique can become a successful oarsman if he has the determination, and this is the quality that makes winning shells what they are.

Though it is his first love, crew is not Charlie's only athletic endeavor. Despite his never having skied in regular competition before coming to Dartmouth, he became a varsity cross-country skier with ease and placed in several important meets. A philosophy major, he is also active in the Outing Club and is a member of Kappa Sigma and Casque and Gauntlet. Plans for the future are still a bit nebulous, but there is a possibility of his going into teaching. If this should come about, there will be fortunate young people in the future who will gain not only knowledge from him but also his contagious enthusiasm and sense of sportsmanship.

Charles C. Lund II '60