Peter Politzer ('PRP'), Chairman of the NSR, has announced his retirement, but perhaps not all attending the regatta will be aware of Peter's extensive involvement and experience in his long rowing 'career'.

PRP, after his student days at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, taught at Milton Abbas school before taking up a post at Pangbourne College, where he rapidly established his coaching reputation, his school crew winning the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley in 1971. He coached several crews in GB junior teams in the 1970s, but in 1982, circumstances led to a new involvement with the strategic management of the GB Junior Team.

That September, David Berry (DAB) was asked to form a new junior selection board. He and BGG felt that an independently-minded, third member was required to ensure that issues had been thoroughly discussed amongst ourselves before publishing the new junior team strategy. PRP was the clear and obvious choice, and his first mission was to defuse any difficulty that might arise from a meeting of disgruntled coaches at Marlow RC, and after his arrival all present repaired to the bar, without argument! Thus did PRP's role crystallise. He became the 'Cabinet Enforcer', the sorter-out of truculent coaches.

The following summer, the 1983 junior team came home with a silver medal (that was very nearly a gold) in the MJ4- and a much improved standard amongst other crews.

PRP was a selector and/or member of the junior management team until, in 1991, he announced his retirement but was duly selected by the new GB Junior Team Chief Coach (MJB) to coach the MJ 2x for the World Junior Championships that year. The transformation from 'Cabinet Enforcer' to 'Neurotic Coach' that subsequently occurred was joyous and wondrous to behold. PRP, in relinquishing one set of responsibilities, embraced another to look after his crew with characteristic enthusiasm and responsible, paternal concern for their welfare and progress.

Peter, now Deputy Head at Pangbourne College, moved on to 'water meadows green' in the Corridors of Power at ARA HQ, where he served as Chairman of the Junior Commission and on the Executive, and, during this time, he was elected Chairman of the NSR Committee, and as if this were not sufficient evidence that 'you cannot hold a good man down', he also started coaching men's crews at Reading RC who were very soon introduced to 'pairs matrices' and overseas selection camps, elements of the successful junior team strategy that had evolved over the years.

After retiring from Pangbourne, PRP devoted his energies to the NSR, overseeing its expansion from a two- to a three-day event, and most recently grasping, with characteristic firmness, the nettle of the increasing number of races and competitors and the demands that this placed on personnel, resources and logistics by deciding to introduce, this year, a system to reduce the number of preliminary rounds of racing.

Peter's contribution to GB rowing, and to school/junior rowing, has been immense. It is worth reflecting that, of the 14 men's sweep finalists at the 2000 Olympic Games, including 12 gold medallists in 4- and 8+, 10 or so had been junior team members, of whom 8 had won junior medals including 4 who won gold medals, all identified by the junior system that Peter had done so much to create.

Thank you Peter for all that you have done for our sport. We and many, many others are very grateful to you, and have been much impressed by the way that you have firmly sniffed out trouble and stepped nimbly over the challenges that you have encountered.

DAB, MJB & BGG.