Academic Rowing Association, The Sport and The Preppy Style

The September evening is calm during the golden hour. Brunnsviken glistens in the low, warm sun with light cast along the water. The noise and chaos of rush hour traffic do not reach here, despite the proximity to Stockholm. The team changes for training in the Academic Rowing Association's beautiful pavilion and clubhouse. Coach Connla Edwards spreads his calm aura around the boathouse when I arrive. The building was designed and built in 1934 according to the winning proposal in an architectural competition by architect Folke Löfström, then still a student at KTH. Clean lines, plywood, and a wall of windows facing the water, where the dressing room and pavilion rest beautifully on top of the boathouse, which testifies to a long tradition of community and club spirit. We meet team members Gustav Arvidsson, Jonas Richter, Erik Bröte, Hilmar Verbeek, and Magnus Rosenblad, who embody the image of everything rowing stands for: style, sportsmanship, grit and teamwork. We exchange a few words with Gustav before the team launches the sleek boat ahead of a hard training session.

Team spirit and grit

"Grit", you might be wondering. The North American word aptly describes personal qualities of purposefully not giving up, of giving everything until the goal is achieved, regardless of prevailing circumstances. The team practices at 6 o'clock every morning before school and work. Rowing is an extremely physically demanding sport where legs, back, arms, shoulders, and lung capacity must meet in an explosion of endurance and mental ability to overcome lactic acid-saturated pain. A pain that simultaneously forms strong team cohesion and united power.

"Fighting even harder doesn't feel like a sacrifice,
because you know your teammate is going through the same pain for you"

Warm-up talk in the changing room before training day.

- The team aspect is incredibly important in rowing when you are so synchronised that you become a unit and feel each other's power in the boat. Deep bonds are created between teammates when you have each other's backs, can trust each other fully, and fighting even harder does not feel like a sacrifice because you know that your teammate is going through the same pain as you, notes Gustav.

The preppy style now and then

The preppy style has changed since it first appeared in the 1970s, then as an extension of the American East Coast style at the prestigious universities between the 1910s and 1960s. Today we see brands such as Ralph Lauren, Drake's and Rowing Blazers promoting a more contemporary style that combines British tailoring, Ivy, street, retro, and preppy in new interpretations. Although the style is not entirely similar to what was seen in the 70s and 80s, it is still undeniably preppy. If we are to predict the future of the preppy style, our opinion is that it will continue to be popular in years to come, where the best of the preppy will merge with other styles - and thus live on.

The future of rowing

Through cohesion and impeccable determination, the rowing team has reaped remarkable victories. Compared to the US, rowing in Sweden is smaller and has fewer resources, with boats that do not always maintain the same high technical level as international competition. The team has won several national and international medals, and parts of the squad, Gustav Arvidsson, Jonas Richter, and Erik Bröte row for the Swedish national team. As previously mentioned, Gustav has competed for the Ivy League University Dartmouth, and his ambition is to row in the upcoming Olympics. Belief in the future of the sport is strong, and the hope is that the sport, like the preppy style, can continue to flourish and develop into something that more people will pay attention to.


As a harmonious unit, the boat glides out over Brunnsviken's calm swell. In beautiful symbiosis, the rowing team follows coach Edward's rhythmic advice and exhortations, conveyed through a megaphone. Beautifully framing the mood for unforgettable memories and a curiosity about the team's future achievements in national and international rowing.