The fathers of two former Men’s Boat Race winners, Freddie Davidson (Emmanuel College, Cambridge 2017, 2018) and Charlie Elwes (Oriel College, Oxford 2022), have recently learned to row and will be taking on a 133-mile charity rowing challenge.
The rowers’ fathers AKA Hugh Elwes and Al Davidson are joined by fellow Dads, Nick Digby and Rory Carnegie. The ‘4 Dads’ crew will start their charity row on Thursday 2nd May in Lechlade, Gloucestershire rowing through 44 locks to finish 133 miles later in Putney, London on Monday May 6th.
Asked why the 4 Dads crew had chosen to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Love Rowing, Al Davidson said, “The Royal Marsden has done so much to support our loved ones in their cancer treatments so it was natural to support them. And we chose Love Rowing because the charity offers kids from all backgrounds, and people with disabilities, the opportunities that we have seen our kids experience in rowing – the incredible camaraderie and teamwork, focus and energy whether that is in a local regatta, at Nat Schools or competing in the Boatraces – and how that spills over into their wider lives.”
The 4 Dads became friends, after bonding on the banks of the river supporting their sons who currently row for the GB Rowing Team. Sholto Carnegie, Tom Digby and Charlie Elwes row together in the British Eight whilst Freddie Davidson is in the Coxless Four, all four hoping to be selected for the Olympics Games in Paris this summer.
Charlie Elwes returning from a successful European Championship weekend in Szeged with the British Rowing Team says of the ‘4 Dads’, “It’s very exciting to see our dads finally experiencing the Championship Tideway course and raising money for all of those great causes. My dad doesn’t row, and so I don’t know whether he’ll have another opportunity to row down the tideway to take it all in. It’s special to have the opportunity to row!”
The ‘4 Dads Crew’ will be welcoming Guest Coxes along the route, including Ian Middleton, (Queens’ College) who coxed the winning Cambridge Men’s Blue Boat in 2016 (Blue 2014, 2015, 2016, Goldie 2017) and won two medals for Great Britain at Under 23 World Championships. It seems fitting that Ian will cox the 4 Dads Crew along the famous Boat Race Championship Course on the final stage of the row on Monday 6 May. The crew will finish their row and come ashore to a warm welcome at London Rowing Club on Putney Embankment.
This is a row that Light and Dark Blues fans can get behind as these Dads take on an oarsome challenge following in the wake of their sons, if you would like to support the 4Dads in their challenge, the link to the fundraising page is: www.4dadsrow.co.uk