Carly Bilson (born 18 February 1981) is an Australian former rowing

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

– a national champion and World Champion. She is Australia's first female World Champion coxswain, having steered the 2001 World Championship women's eight to victory.

Club and state rowing

Born in Sydney, Bilson's senior rowing was done from the

Mosman Rowing Club Mosman Rowing Club is an all-level competitive and recreational rowing club on the North Shore of Sydney. Since 2007 the club's facilities have been wholly located at The Spit in Sydney's Middle Harbour, the northern arm of Port Jackson. Merc ...

. She was awarded a scholarship to the New South Wales Institute of Sport prior to her 2001 World Championship success. Bilson was coxing at Mosman when the Australian premier women's interstate event was upgraded from a

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

to an

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

. Initially the women's eights continued to contest the longstanding silverware – the ULVA Trophy. Bilson was selected in the stern of the first four New South Wales eights who contested the blue riband event in the Interstate Regatta within the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

from 1999 to 2002. She saw a New South Wales victory in 2002. In her first state representative year of 1999 she coxed both the senior and the youth New South Wales women's eights and had a victory in the youth eight.

International representative rowing

Bilson made the Australian squad for the 2001 international tour. In their first competitive outing of the 2001 season, racing as an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

selection eight at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

, Bilson won the 2001 Henley Prize for women's eights (from 2002 this event was renamed the

Remenham Challenge Cup The Remenham Challenge Cup is a rowing event for women's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to female crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine to ma ...

). She then coxed the eight in the World Rowing Cup IV regatta in Munich Germany. The Australian eight placed second and knew they were on track for possible World Championship success. A month later at the

2001 World Rowing Championships The 2001 World Rowing Championships were held from 19 to 26 August 2001 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men Non-Olympic classes Women Non-Olympic classes Medal table References {{Authority control World Rowing C ...

in Lucerne, Switzerland the Australian women's heavyweight crew stroked by Kristina Larsen won Australia's first ever women's eight World Championship title. Bilson came home as the first female coxswain to steer an Australian boat to a world title and the first to cox an Australian women's eight to victory at Henley.Bilson at World Rowing
/ref> With just one seat change the Australian women's eight stayed together into 2002. Their European campaign ahead of the World Championships saw Bilson steering the eight to a bronze at the Rowing World Cup II in Lucerne and to silver at the Rowing World Cup III in Munich. At the 2002 World Championships in Seville Spain, the Australian eight won their heat but were beaten out by the USA by 0.45 seconds in the final. The Australians with Bilson in the stern just held out the Germans and Bilson won her second World Championship placing – a silver.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilson, Carly 1981 births Living people Australian female rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Coxswains (rowing) 21st-century Australian women Place of birth missing (living people)