NEW BOAT HONOURS FORMER COUNCIL CHAIRMAN
TOP PHOTO : LEFT TO RIGHT – THE PRINCIPAL , DR SCOTT MARSH , THE 1ST CREW , ALEX SLOAN (’ 71 ), KAREN WOOD , SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN , HAMISH TADGELL (’ 85 ) MIDDLE PHOTO : KAREN WOOD WITH ALEX SLOAN (’ 71 )
The christening of a boat is always a special occasion at Scotch , with staff and students gathering around to celebrate and contemplate the plethora of competitions and rowers the boat will take on in the future . However , on Thursday 14 March , the event was made even more special , since the boat was named for none other than the former School Council Chairman , Alex Sloan (’ 71 ), whose contributions to rowing at Scotch have simply been quite scintillating .
Alexander Thomas Sloan attended Scotch from 1965 to 1971 , and he was a 1971 School Prefect and Captain of Boats . He was also a member of the premiership-winning 1970 1st XVIII .
Alex ’ s rowing journey at Scotch began in the 1967 under 15 3rd IV . He progressed through the 1968 10th VIII and the 1969 4th VIII , before rowing in seven-seat of both the 1970 and 1971 1st VIIIs .
After leaving Scotch he rowed in the Victorian eight in the interstate King ’ s Cup competition from 1977 to 1981 , winning in 1979 and 1980 . Alex represented Australia in the coxless pair at the 1979 World Championships along with fellow Scotchie , Stephen Shirrefs (’ 72 ).
The Sloan family has a long Scotch rowing pedigree . Alex ’ s father Bruce (’ 32 ) rowed in the 1932 and 1933 1st VIIIs . Alex ’ s uncle Alex (’ 23 ) rowed in the 1923 and 1924 1st VIIIs and his uncle John (’ 24 ) rowed in the 1924 1st VIII .
The Sloan connection to Scotch rowing began with Alex ’ s grandfather , Alexander Barclay Sloan , who coached the Scotch 1st crew 20 times between 1898 and 1925 , winning seven times , including the re-row of the only dead heat in a Head of the River final , in 1919 , Scotch beat Xavier in the re-row .
After the traditional school Assembly during which he received a rousing round of applause , accompanied by his wife , Karen Wood , who actually christened the boat with the traditional bottle of champagne , Alex was cheered by the crowd and engaged in conversations with those wanting to gain some savoir-faire and wisdom from his very rich experience .
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