First up was the ‘B’ IV in an exciting first round race against Poplar. The two crews remained close down the course but in the end the CUW IV stole the victory by just half a length. Both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ IVs made it through the semis ‘easily’ and so racing for the two IVs culminated in a final against each other. There wasn’t much between them off the start but the ‘A’ IV moved away steadily down the course and finished 4 lengths ahead.

By mid-morning it was getting quite warm and Lizzie, who was entered both in her single and in the ‘A’ IV, used the first 1x round as an opportunity for a refreshing swim. In their first ever sculling event, Marthe and Elly won their first round comfortably – 3 ¼ lengths ahead of their competition – but were then knocked out in the semis.

In the IM3 VIIIs category, the ‘C’ VIII were the first to take to the course and strolled through to the next round. The Scullers VIII, a fairly scratch crew made up of those that had spent the week learning to scull, came together admirably and also won their first round comfortably. The ‘C’ VIII was knocked out in a very close semi final by a strong Molesey crew on home water. The Molesey crew was then up against the mighty CUWBC Scullers VIII in the final and this time CUW came out on top, winning the final by 3 ½ lengths.

Our two Novice VIIIs both made it through the first round comfortably and so came up against each other in the second CUW-CUW final of the day. ‘D’ triumphed over ‘E’, but it was up no means a walk-over. As they crossed the finish line, the distance between the two crews was 1 1/3 length.

A befitting end to an excellent Dev Squad – bring on next year!

This year, with a slightly new format for development squad, we decided to enter two fours, three eights and then a further two scratch fours made up of people who had spent the week learning to scull. With only a week training together in these crews, and three weeks together as a squad, we were a little apprehensive about how it would go.

The morning division started the day well, with two Cambridge-Cambridge finals in IM3 fours and novice fours, all winning their heats and semi-finals with ease. We also saw two of our girls enter their first sculling race in a double, with only two weeks sculling experience and coming second in a three person heat.

The afternoon continued the trend, novice eights ended in yet another Cambridge-Cambridge final, the IM3 eight came second in a three person final and Lizzie won novice singles comfortably, despite being warned by the umpire “Cambridge, the river is straight”.

So, a successful day! We left with twenty pots and the Victor Ludorum trophy for being the most successful club at the regatta, we just wish they had more categories for us to enter so we didn’t have to race against our own crews.

A good start to another year with CUWBC, bring on Molesey Regatta next week!

You’re rowers at Cambridge, that sounds impressive. We’ve seen your men on TV. How can you need money?

The Cambridge University Women rowers train extremely hard, but we have nowhere near enough sponsorship to cover even a fraction of the expenses associated with training or racing. The day-to-day costs of travel to and from Ely where we train every morning, kit, race entries, transport to and from races, accommodation etc. all fall heavily on the shoulders of the rowers, most of whom are undergraduates with already stretched student loans. This financial burden, estimated at £1,200 per trialling year (September to March), is paid personally by each athlete as the financial sacrifice for their sport, their love of rowing, and to represent their university in the boat race.

It seems to be working though – what is the problem?

On top of the day-to-day costs of rowing for Cambridge, the week leading up to the Henley Boat Races represents a significant portion of this expenditure. Accommodation in Henley for the week leading up to the race, boating, racing kit, transport and other items directly related to the boat race cost each athlete a further £500. We already struggle to pay for the costs of training. so cannot hope to pay this for ourselves on top. Therefore, CUWBC has launched a fundraising campaign called ‘Sponsor-A-Seat’. The idea is simple: each athlete is hoping to raise £500 to cover the costs associated with Race Week.

We are hoping that family and friends of athletes, companies in around Cambridge and Henley or who feel an affinity with CUWBC, College funds and bursaries and others may be able to help us. CUWBC is wholly dependent on this generous support and we are extremely grateful for it.

What would I get out of it?

If you were so kind as to offer to help sponsor one of our athletes, your name or company’s name would feature on our website. Donations of £150 and above will have the donor mentioned in the official Henley Boat Races programme as well as featuring on the T-shirts worn by rowers in training. As our athletes are frequently undergraduates from a wide variety of backgrounds, these T-shirts will be visible on top-level athletes all over the country. Apart from this you would gain the immense gratitude of a whole club and the knowledge that you had made a great contribution to women’s rowing, no matter how small your donation. Every penny is greatly appreciated!

Are you eligible for Gift Aid?

Yes we are. Through its affiliation with the University of Cambridge, donations to CUWBC via the Cambridge Foundation are eligible for gift aid. In practice, this means that for every pound you donate, we receive £1.28 which is a 28% gain! It also means that if you are a higher rate taxpayer, you can claim back for yourself the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40% and the basic rate of tax at 20% on the value of your donation.

Why should I help?

The financial burden of rowing for the University is a major deterrent for aspiring rowers and returning Blues. On race day, every individual in a rowing eight is vital. Thus, every athlete who decides not to trial is a small advantage to Oxford. If we do not succeed in our Sponsor-A-Seat campaign, it will leave a debt behind for future years of triallists to cope with. This will incur further costs, discourage more strong and able College rowers from trialling for the University, and will be extremely detrimental to our long-term campaign against the Dark Blues.

I want to help. What can I do?

First of all, thank you! For even reading this far you have done a service to our cause. If you would like to help, please get in touch with the contacts below.

If you are a U.K. taxpayer, please make out cheques to ‘The Cambridge Foundation’ and fill in a Gift Aid form. You can also donate online via the Cambridge Foundation, which is safe and quick. Follow this link and click on Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club as the benefactor of your donation:

If you are not a U.K. taxpayer, please make out cheques to ‘CUWBC’.

For further information on the Sponsor A Seat Campaign, please contact Hannah Morgan.

Hannah Morgan
Clare  College
Old Court
Trinity Lane
Cambridge
CB2 1TL

Mobile: 07812 198778
Email: hlm44@cam.ac.uk

For press inquiries, please contact our publicity officer Claudia Catacchio.
Office: 01223 500750
Mobile: 07706 147951
Email: cc410@cam.ac.uk

Thank you!

Trial VIIIs was held on December 20th. The Blue Boat (”Hook”) came in first, followed by the Lightweights (”Line”), and Blondie (”Sinker”).

Icy conditions in Soustons.

Trial VIIIs.

Early morning.

The Blue Boat celebrates while cox Mat gets ready to oversee the rescue operation.

With the Cambridge Blue Boat weighing in at over a stone heavier per crew member than Oxford and Blondie over 6lbs heavier and the warm spring sunshine looking to provide excellent water for racing on Sunday, the Challenges were accepted.

The Lightweight crews weigh in on Sunday 3 hours before their race with their racing rules requiring them to race below 59 kilos per crew member.

Umpire for the Boat Races will be Michael Williams, who coxed Goldie in 1972 and the Cambridge Blue Boat to a win in 1973; Trinity Hall; FISA Treasurer and Executive Committee and Steward of Henley Royal Regatta.

1.30pm Nephthys to row over

2.00pm Women’s Reserves – Osiris v. Blondie

2.30pm Lightweight Women’s Boat Race – OUWLRC v. CUWBC Lightweights

3.00pm Women’s Boat Race – OUWBC v. CUWBC

3.30pm Lightweight Men’s Boat Race – OULRC v. CULRC

4.30pm Trophies presented at Remenham Farm.

For details of coaches to and from Cambridge and tickets to the Boat Race Ball, please contact Louise Connell on vice-president@cuwbc.org.

Blue Boat:

Lightweights:

Blondie:

Spares:

* previous Blue
+ previous Blondie Colours
# previous Lightweight