Lightweights

The main CUWBC squad is made up of three boats:

. The Blue Boat: our top boat, there is no weight minimum or maximum for this boat.

. The Lightweights: for athletes that did not make the Blue Boat and are capable of weighing 59kg or less on Boat Race day.

. Blondie: for athletes that did not make the Blue Boat or the Lightweights. Again, there is not weight minimum or maximum for this boat.

We encourage all our rowers to eat healthily and be as lean as possible and often athletes who end up in the lightweight eight start trialling at a few kilograms over this limit and gradually lose the weight in a controlled manner over the course of the trialling period. We fat-test all athletes at the start of trialling to assess whether they can get down to weight healthily. CUWBC has a long experience of helping lightweights reach weight sensibly and healthily and will provide assistance and support to the relevant athletes. With the volume of training that CUWBC does, losing weight while still eating enough calories to train efficiently requires careful balance but is not too difficult.

As a general guide people that might be considered for the lightweight boat start off weighing 64kg or less in October. If you have any questions about trialling and weight please email Lizzie (president@cuwbc.org).