The Rüsselsheimer Ruder-Klub 08 (Rüsselsheim rowing club 08), also known by its abbreviation RRK 08, is a sports club based in the German city of

Rüsselsheim am Main Rüsselsheim am Main is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau district in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status cities (implementing several functions that counties nor ...

. Originally a rowing club, the main sport has been hockey since the late 1960s. The other sport offered is tennis.

History

The rowing club was founded in 1908. The first boat was a gig four, a German row boat type mostly used for training purposes. By 1919, i.e. just after World War I, the club had 182 members. A number of notable events occurred in 1925: the club house was built, women's rowing commences, and members start playing hockey during the winter months. First founded in 1910 and re-founded in 1919, a second rowing club existed in Rüsselsheim: Rudergesellschaft Undine Rüsselsheim (RGUR). Both local rowing clubs stagnated during the 1930s; first due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and then due to sport becoming secondary in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. In 1938, the two clubs first formed a combined

rowing eight An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit in ...

and this led to the amalgamation of the two clubs in 1942, adopting the name of the older club. At the end of World War II, the club house was confiscated by the

American Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and the club dissolved, as were all sports clubs in

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

. The club was re-founded in April 1946. This was followed by a period where club rowers would often win the German rowing championships; to date 28 national titles have been won. The next notable year was 1952: the American forces released the club's boat house, and the city built two hockey fields that gave this sport a boost. In 1968, the club's men's team won the national hockey championship. Since 1968, hockey is the dominant sport at RRK 08. The other sport offered by the club is tennis.

Notable individuals

Hockey

Britta Becker Britta Becker (born 11 May 1973 in Rüsselsheim) is a German former field hockey midfield player. Becker made her debut in the German women's field hockey team in 1991 and was the youngest in the Olympic squad in 1992. She was part of the 1995 ...

( 1992 Olympic silver medallist) *

Tanja Dickenscheid Tanja Roswitha Dickenscheid (born 17 June 1969 in Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz) is a former field hockey player from Germany, who was a member of the national squad that won the silver medal at the Field hockey at the 1992 Summer Olympics, ...

( 1992 Olympic silver medallist) * Christian Domke (

2003 Indoor Hockey World Cup The 2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup was the first edition of the Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup the quadrennial world championship for men's national indoor hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It occurred in February ...

world champion) *

Oliver Domke Oliver Domke (born 22 March 1976) is a German former field hockey player. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2 ...

(1996 and 2000 Olympic competitor) *

Tobias Frank Tobias Frank (born 5 April 1958, in Worms) is a German former field hockey player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympi ...

(double Olympic silver medallist – 1984 and 1988) *

Mandy Haase Mandy Haase (born 25 June 1982, in Leipzig) is a field hockey defender from Germany, who won the gold medal with the National Women's Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She made her debut for the national squad on 18 May 2003 in ...

(

2004 Olympic The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

gold medallist) * Eva Hagenbäumer ( 1992 Olympic silver medallist) *

Denise Klecker Denise Klecker (born 26 January 1972 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a retired female field hockey defender from Germany, who won the gold medal with the German National Women's Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is renow ...

(

gold medallist) *

Peter Kraus Peter Kraus (born 18 March 1939) is an Austrian-German singer and actor. Born Peter Siegfried Krausenecker in Munich, Germany, Kraus was popular especially in the 1950s, notably in those musical comedy films where he played opposite Cornelia F ...

( 1972 Olympic gold medallist) *

Silke Müller Silke Müller (born 11 November 1978) is a field hockey midfielder from Germany, who won the gold medal with the German National Women's Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. (Senior) National Team achievements * 2000 – Eu ...

(

gold medallist) *

Susanne Müller Susanne Müller (born 12 May 1972) is a former field hockey player from Germany, who was a member of the Women's National Team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the ...

( 1992 Olympic silver medallist) *

Christopher Reitz Christopher Reitz (born 3 April 1973 in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen) is a German field hockey goalkeeper, who represented Germany in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. He is now an orthopaedic surgeon in Sydney, Australia. International Seni ...

( 1992 Olympic gold medallist) * Fritz Schmidt ( 1972 Olympic gold medallist) *

Rainer Seifert Rainer Seifert (born 10 December 1947 in Wiesbaden) is a former field hockey player from Germany, who was a member of the West German squad that won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Munich ( ; german: München ...

( 1972 Olympic gold medallist) *

Bianca Weiß Bianca Weiß (born 24 January 1968) is a former field hockey goalkeeper from Germany, who was a member of the Women's National Team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a c ...

( 1992 Olympic silver medallist)

Rowing

Georg von Opel Georg von Opel (born 4 May 1966) is a German-born Swiss billionaire and heir, great-grandson of Adam Opel who founded the German car manufacturer Opel AG. Early life and education Von Opel was born on 4 May 1966 in Kronberg im Taunus, West Ge ...

(1912–1971) seven times German champion, sports administrator, member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

, son of

Carl von Opel Georg Adolf Carl von Opel (31 August 1869 – 16 February 1927), known as Georg Adolf Carl Opel before being ennobled in 1918, was a bank specialist and industrialist of the Opel family and one of the founders of the German automobile manufacturer ...

References

{{Men's Feldhockey Bundesliga RRK 08 Multi-sport clubs in Germany Field hockey clubs in Germany Rowing clubs in Germany Field hockey clubs established in 1925