Reinhold Batschi OAM (born 20 August 1942 in

Sânpetru Sânpetru (German: ''Petersberg''; Hungarian: ''Barcaszentpéter'') is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania, located just north of the county seat, Brașov. It is composed of a single village, Sânpetru. The commune is located in ...

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county (județ) of Transylvania, Romania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian language, Hungari ...

, Romania) is a former Romanian rower and leading Australian rowing coach. He was the inaugural Head Coach of the

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 ...

's rowing program and Head Coach of the Australian Olympic rowing teams from 1980 to 2000.

Rowing career

Batschi became involved in rowing as a result of Romania's compulsory national service. Representing Romania as a rower, Batschi won a bronze medal in the men's coxed fours at the

1967 European Rowing Championships The 1967 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Allier, a reservoir in the Allier River adjacent to the French city of Vichy. This edition of the European Rowing Championships was held from 1 to 3 September for wome ...

. At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, his crew the men's coxed four finished seventh. He retired from competitive rowing in 1969.

Coaching career

Batschi completed a sports studies degree at the National Academy of Physical Education and Sport in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In 1970, he became at coach at his rowing club in Bucharest. Batschi them moved to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

to become Head Coach at the City of West Berlin Rowing Centre. He coached the West German team to medals at the

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

. In 1979, he moved to Australia with his wife Florie and two daughters to take up the appointment of National Coaching Director for the Australian Rowing Council (

Rowing Australia Rowing Australia (RA) is the governing body for the sport of rowing in Australia. Established in 1925, it is the only organisation recognised by the Federation Internationale des Societies d’Aviron (FISA), the Australian Sports Commission ...

). In 1984, he was appointed inaugural Head Coach of the

's rowing program. He held this position until his retirement in September 2007. In 1986, Batschi coached the Australian men's eight which won the gold medal at the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

. This was the first and only time Australia won the men's eight at either the Olympic Games or at a World Championship. Upon retirement in 2007 he was acknowledged for "his pioneering work included a national program for technique development, a coach development program that was the forerunner of a national coach accreditation scheme, a program of international competition for up-and-coming rowers, improved selection procedures, and year-round training".

International representative coaching medal record

Olympic Games

Head Coach of the Australian Olympic rowing teams from 1980 to 2000. During his period as Head Coach, Australia won 16 Olympic rowing medals (four gold, five silver and seven bronze). He only directly coached teams in 1984 and 1988 Games. *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

– Bronze medal – Men's eight *

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

– Fifth – Men's eight *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

- Seventh - Men's Quadruple Scull

World Championships

Head Coach in 1991 and 1999 World Championships. Results for crews coached at World Championships: *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

Bronze medal – Men's eight *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Gold medal – Men's eight *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Fourth – Men's eight *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Tenth – Men's four *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Eight – Men's eight *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Tenth – Men's eight *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Fifth – Men's coxed four *

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Eleventh – Men's eight *

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Eighth – Men's coxless pair *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Tenth – Men's quad scull *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Fourth – Men's double scull; Fourteenth – Men's single scull *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Fourth – Men's quad scull

Commonwealth Games

– Gold medal – Men's eight; Bronze medal – Men's Coxed Fours

Accolades

*1987 – OAM for his services to rowing, particularly through coaching. *1990 – inducted in the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

as a general member *1991 – Eunice Gill Coach Education Merit Award. *2000 –

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

*2015 – Rowing Australia renamed its National Training Centre in Canberra – The Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre *2016 – Distinguished Services to International Rowing Award. * Life Member

References

External links

*
Reinhold Batschi interviewed by Robin Poke in the Sport oral history project, National Library of Australia, 2008
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batschi, Reinhold 1942 births Living people Romanian male rowers Olympic rowers for Romania Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists Australian rowing coaches Olympic coaches for Australia Australian Institute of Sport coaches Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportspeople from Brașov County Romanian emigrants to Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Transylvanian Saxon people 20th-century Romanian sportsmen