Conibear, Hiram Boardman

▪ American coach

born Sept. 5, 1871, Mineral, Ill., U.S.

died Sept. 9, 1917, Seattle, Wash.

      American trainer and rowing coach at the University of Washington (1907–17). He developed a distinctive style known as the American stroke (also called the Washington stroke and the Conibear stroke) that revolutionized college rowing and had an effect on the sport that lasted for 30 years.

      Conibear was hired by the University of Washington as a trainer for the football and track teams because of his work in that field at the universities of Chicago, Illinois, and Montana and as head trainer for the Chicago White Sox baseball team. His knowledge of rowing was slight, but he assumed the responsibility of coaching the team and learned the sport through extensive reading, observation, and motion-study experiments with laboratory skeletons. His rowing style stressed physical training and was based on leg drive. He produced teams noted for their strength and stamina that won six California-Washington races in seven years. He was also interested in the design of racing boats and worked with the Pocock brothers of British Columbia (later of Seattle) in building competitive shells.

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