New Zealand and Otago stalwart Fred Strachan is poised to be honoured internationally at the world rowing awards dinner in Italy next week.
He is on the short list for the distinguished service to international rowing award, to be announced during the world rowing coaches' conference in Varese.
Others on the short list are Bernd Schuhmacher (Germany), Borge Kaas Andersen (Denmark), Peter Morrison (Great Britain) and Ricardo Ibarra (Argentina).
Schumacher rowed internationally and was a German team coach before becoming the director of the Munich regatta course. He was a key person in the development of the world rowing cup series.
Andersen is a former member of the Fisa executive and longtime chairman of the umpiring commission.
Morrison has been the backbone of Scottish and British rowing and has been an international umpire.
Ibarra has been key to the success of Fisa's development programme in South America since 1986.
In 1966, Strachan (87) was one of three national selectors who hatched a radical plan to lift New Zealand rowing out of the doldrums.
It led to gold medals at the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games and put the sport on the elite pedestal.
Rowing has been one of the best-performed New Zealand sports in the international arena since then.
Before the Strachan era, the winning club crew from the national championships represented New Zealand in major international events. Strachan introduced the concept of selecting the best rowers, whatever their club.
His influence in New Zealand was recognised in 2004 when he was appointed mentor to crews preparing for the world championships.
It is fitting that Strachan be recognised this year because he was the first coach of Hamish Bond, who has been unbeaten in the pair with Eric Murray for the past three years.
Bond and Murray are short-listed for the male crew of the year award.
The other nominees are Henrik Stephansen (world champion lightweight men's single sculls, Denmark) and Gregor Hauffe, Andreas Kuffner, Eric Johannesen, Maximilian Reinelt, Richard Schmidt, Lukas Mueller, Florian Menningen, Kristof Wilke and Martin Sauer (world champion eight, Germany).
Last year's winner and regular nominee, Dick Tonks, is the other New Zealander up for an award. He is on the short list for coach of the year.
His opponents are Gianni Postiglione (Italy), the head coach for Greece, and Tomas Kacovsky (Czech Republic), the coach of world champion women's sculler Mirka Knapkova.
The annual awards began with 2000 public nominations after the world championships.
The nominations were then short-listed by the Fisa council, and the winners will be chosen by the executive committee. The winners will be announced on November 11.
