Let’s row with it Trinity Access launches Summer Rowing Camps at Islandbridge, named for an extraordinary graduate, Olympic rower, and philanthropist, Rob Van Mesdag This summer, over 100 secondary school students coming from schools in disadvantaged areas took part in week-long Trinity Rowing camps, held in Islandbridge throughout the month of June. The camps are a collaboration of Trinity Sport and Trinity Access Programmes (TAP) with the Dublin University Boating Club (DUBC) and Dublin University Ladies Boat Club (DULBC) and were open to all fourth and fifth year students in TAP’s linked schools, which are typically located in areas of disadvantage without a strong tradition of progressing to third-level education. The camps, held at Islandbridge Boathouse, teach the students the basics of rowing, while introducing them to the opportunities of third-level education. Wendy Crampton, Director of TAP, emphasises that the aim is ‘to equip students with the skills of communication, teamwork, and confidence through rowing on the water. These are the skills that will help drive ambition to progress to third level and will support them on their path to success and excellence in the future.’ The summer camp is named after Rob Van Mesdag (1930-2018), an Olympic rower and DUBC alumnus who provided the seed funding for the initiative and was a deeply committed Trinity graduate, who supported the university through volunteering and philanthropy. Born in Hilversum in North Holland in 1930 into a wealthy family who owned Van Houten Chocolate, he was the youngest of four brothers. The outbreak of World War II when he was nine years old had a deep impact on the family. The eldest, Jaap, was one of 32 Dutchmen who in 1941 tried to reach England by kayak to join up. He was apprehended by a German boat and interned in concentration camps for 3 years; remarkably he survived. A second brother, Jat, died in March 1945, flying for the RAF. Rob and the third brother, Maarten, were sent to live on a farm for the duration of the war and were then sent to school in Delaware, in the United States. Rob followed Maarten to Trinity in 1949 (apparently the Dutch universities had been bombed and Oxford and Cambridge were full). He graduated with a BComm in 1952. On his second day at the Trinity Regatta in June 1949, he won the Emerald Challenge Cup for senior scullers. He represented the Netherlands at the European Championships from 1952-1956, winning bronze in 1955, and competed at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. In 1956, when he was at his peak as a sculler, the Netherlands boycotted the Melbourne Olympics as protest at the Russian invasion of Hungary. After graduation, Rob worked for the family business, Van Houten Chocolate, until it was sold in 1962. He moved to London, where he became a freelance correspondent for Dutch and English newspapers, specialising in reporting on rowing and sailing. He rowed with the ‘irregulars’ at the London Rowing Club twice a week till the end of his life and edited the first comprehensive history of the Club for its 125th anniversary in 1981. He lived in Fulham with his long-term companion, Michaele Wellington-Hall. They attended All Saints Church, Fulham, where Rob served as Church Warden. A generous benefactor to other causes as well as Trinity, he acted as ambassador for the homeless charity ‘Crisis’ and volunteered his time on Christmas Day. He remained devoted to DUBC and would come over for the Trinity Regatta each year. Elected president of the Club 1990– 2006, he launched a major fundraising campaign to upgrade and extend the boathouse and set in hand the updating of the Club’s Constitution. He coached Seán Drea, who went on to win a silver at the World Championships in 1975. His memorial services in Trinity Chapel in September 2018 and in Fulham in October, recalled a humorous erudite man,
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