Key highlights from bumps itself must include the fact that no CCBC crew got spoons, Felix Opolka and Ivi Yamasaki Patrikiou participating and finding success in crews both as coxes and rowers, and of course, W1 getting blades!
If any of you wish to share rowing news or stories with the rest of the CCBC community, you are more than welcome to contact me to be featured in the next Alix (Publicity
Manyedition.thanks,
Christ’s College Boat Club has ended this year on a high note,notablybyreceivinga new set of blades, won by the Women’s first boat in May Bumps. We are also saying goodbye to this year’s brilliant committee, who have worked tirelessly to increase engagement with the boatclub.Iwouldliketotakethismoment tothankthem and introduce myself, Alix Danis, as the new Publicity Officer this year. This Summer edition of the CCBC Newsletter reflects on the events at the boat club from Easter Term and the Summer holidays. It contains:
EastertermrowingstartedoffwiththeHeadoftheCam with a M1/W1 composite crew being entered alongside 3 alumni crews. Our crews rowed a 2,600 m course upstream from the Motorway bridge until just before Green Dragon Bridge. The M1/W1 crew, which we werebothracingandhavingthetimeofourlivesin, and the Crusteacean M1 crew won their respective categories which, alongside other events from the day, will be covered later in the newsletter.
The club entered 7 crews into Mays, including an M4 (forthefirst time since2014, asfar aswe cantell)! With M1 and W1 in division 1, M2 and W2 in division 3, and M3 at the top of division 5, it was only M4 and W3 who had to do the Getting On Race. Both crews put in an excellentrace,butunfortunatelyneitherwereabletoget on due to the sheer competitiveness from the many other crews entered. This would not be the end of their bumps journey however, with many members from M4 and W3 being able to support our other crews by subbing in when exams and injury took people out of action, and by cheering us on from the bank.
aced3@cam.ac.ukOfficer) Facebook: @christsbc Instagram: @christscollegeboatclub LinkedIn: @christscollegeboatclub Website: christscollegeboatclub.co.uk
Christ’s College Boat Club Summer 2022 Newsletter
A joint Captain’s Report from our Captain of Boats, Katy, and our Men’s Captain, Rich, who comment on the many races and results from this Summer
Joint Captain’s Report
Featurespace’s ‘Featured Space’, a segment from our wonderful sponsors sharing some exciting graduate programmes and internships!
Two CCBC members, Max Fenner (who has competed at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships) and Alex Tocher, (who has rowed with M1 the past three years) both competed the M1x category of City Sprints, a 500 m side by side regatta on the Long Reach Both raced well and Max went on to win the event. A W2/3 composite scratch crew were also entered into the W2 8+ category and did us proud Again, a more detailed report of our results can be found later in a subsequent Thesectionhighlight of the term (and newsletter), however, must be May Bumps. Returning for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic, there was potential for great losses or gains, as the 2019 division orders were unlikely to reflect the abilities of current crews anywhere on the river. For those who would like a more detailed account of each day’s racing, please see our comprehensive bumps reports (which have been sent alongside this newsletter), written by ourselves and the other crew captains. However, please do read on here for a briefer summary of all the action!
An introduction of our new committee
A race report from the Head of the Cam in which a M1/W1 composite crew and alumni crews participated, followed by a dinner at Sidney Sussex College. Results from City Sprints at the start of term where one of our members won his division. Information about our France training camp fundraiser for which we are incredibly grateful for any support!
Building on the successful Lent’s campaign where they went up 2, W1 went into Easter term with the goal of at least +3.However,it wasachallengingtermoftraining, with exams, deadlines, some fromthe crew being away, and new members having to adapt to a new style of rowing, there was some pressure on the crew.
However, the week before Bumps began, it all came together with some successful practice sparring and pieces.Thanksmust begivenheretooursubsfromboth the Women’s and Men’s side (in particular Annie Milhofer and Mateo Hoare), and Shaun Wilson (A MBC cox) for their support in the weeks leading up to bumps. We knew we were quick but hadn’t quite realised just how quick until the first day when we bumped Girton W1 within 400 m despite a non functional cox box. Suffice it to say that our hunger for Blades had been ignited. Over the followingdays we continuedthe push, bumping FaT W1 and Clare W1 in under 1000 m, without having to even take a corner in either circumstance! Before we knew it, it was Saturday and we were on +3. With Blades in our grasp and huge crowds having gathered (including many of the Christ’s community who were watching from the tent holding the annual May’s picnic),the pressure should have been immense but we remained cool and collected. We were chasingChurchill W1, whowe knew we wererelatively even match having sparred them just a week earlier. We immediately hit our stride, reaching over rate 40 off the start, and even with our rhythm call, our pace didn’t slow, and we maintained a 1:32 split. We had assumed it would be a long and gruelling row, and so we were ecstatic when we heard whistles within the first 500 m. It was all over shortly after that, as we bumped Churchill right in front of the Christ’s Mays picnic by first post corner! A great end to the week, and one that will be remembered for a long time by the club as a whole, the entire W1 crew, and especially by their Captain in the bow seat, who could not be more proud. M1 came into May Bumps with the memory of getting spoons in Lents fresh in our minds. Well, most of our minds, we started term with a new cox and three new rowers (all ex M2 and two of whom had noviced in Michaelmas) in the boat. However, the crew went from strength to strength throughout the term, with very smooth and well sat rows, and perhaps one of the most developed starts on the Cam. Disaster struck, however, when just a week before the start of the campaign, our stroke developed a stress fracture on his rib putting him out of action for its duration. A slight crew reshuffle was needed, with Mikesh Patel stepping up to stroke it and ex M1 veteran Rob Cooper (to whom we are eternally grateful) filling in his seat at 2. On day one we were quicklyandconfidentlyunderway, closingthe gap to Queens’ M1 but not enough before they caught LMBC M2 at first post. We had extended a lead from Tit Hall M1 during this time but as we exited the gut they made a push to bring us back to station but that didn’t deter us. With great consistency and some well timed pushes of our own,as we went down thereach we opened a lead to 2 lengths, then 2 ½, then 3 as we crossed the finish. There would be no spoons for us this time around! Day two would see us holding even with LMBC M2 for the entire race to secure another row over, all in all a very confident row Christ’s Armada
Unfortunately, day three would see us getting bumped by a very deserving Hughes Hall M1 (who would go ontoget Blades with+5,havingbeenmade sandwich boat on day one), however, it was a consolation to know that we had held them off for longer than any other crew that week. The final day saw the greatest scandal known to Christ’s for quite some time. St Catherine’s M1 were able to catch Selwyn M1 (chasing us) after the A14 bridge and we were elated bythe prospect of another row over. This joy was short lived, however, when we saw a static Cat’s M1 and a reinvigorated Selwyn M1 barrelling towards us. As it transpires, The Catz Coach had (foolishly) called a bump and told their crew to hold it up and clear… but the Umpire had not. Despite our best efforts to push them off, Selwyn were able to close to 2 whistles down plough reach, being spurred on by masses of spectators! We were glad to have put on a good show, keeping things tense until there was overlap and then a bump on us as we rounded Ditton. We ended our May’s campaign on 2, which given thecircumstances(wewerecertainlypunchingabove our weight), and that we got spoons in Lents, we’re taking as a small win. M2, W2 and M3 all did very well, finishing their campaigns on 2, 3 and 2 respectively, with all crews having put in some fantastic rowing and strong row overs just getting a little unlucky in places. We encourage you all to read about their stores in more detail in the attached full bumps report.
Withthisbeingourfinal newsletterasCaptains,we’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Steering and Student Committees, and our Crew Captains (Alex M2, Emily W2, Ari M3, Lucy Lily and Sudina W3, Rob M4 and Georgia W1 in Michaelmas)for all theirsupport intheday to dayrunningoftheclub, without whom we would not have been able to accomplish all that we have this year. We’d also like to extend our gratitude to our Coaches, Steve (M2) Jack (M3/4) and Julie (W3) for their amazing work with the lower boats, with a special thanks to Head Coach (M1/W2) and Boatwoman Kate, and W1 coach Max (W1), whose combined vision and dedication to the club have spurred us on, kept the club competitive, lead to some great race results throughout the year including Winter Head, Fairbairn’s, Lents, HoRR and Mays, and to top it off, assured W1 their Blades!
Finally, and most importantly, we’d like to thank each and every one of our rowers and coxes for making the club so welcoming and convivial. More so than ever, we feel that the club is on the up. When we both joined in Michaelmas 2019, there were barely 3 senior boats between both sides of the club. Despite coming off the back of the pandemic, with a whole year of disrupted rowing (including to the 2020 21 novice programme), and owing in part to the efforts
A Year in Retrospect
As always, big boatie love, Katy (Captain of Boats and Women’s Captain) and Rich (Men’s Captain)
Alex Holmes (Men’s Captain)
Hello!
Georgia Denham (Captain of Boats and Women’s AsCaptain)ournew Captain of Boats, my number one priority is being a big sister to everyone at the club. I am about to start a PhD in Music Composition and perform with improvised electronics and modular synthesier. I learnt to row at a young age, but took a long break during my undergrad and came back to the sport last year at CCBC. Fresh from blades with W1, I have exciting plans for the club expect some seriously wholesome brunches and group training sessions.
Hi, I’mEmily, a 4th year medic and the CCBC secretary for 2022/23. Normally I can be found rowing for W2, but since I’ll be on placement this year and won’t be able to essentially live in the boathouse I’ve decided to replacethatbydoingabunchofadminfortheboatclub. Just as good as rowing? Maybe not. But at least I get to control the stash orders.
As this year comes to a close, we thank the brilliant committee who have worked to create the biggest boatclub yet, especially on the women’s side. A special mention goes to Katy and Rich who have kept the Michaelmas novices engaged and have reached the right balance between training and fun. Not only have we participated in many races other than Bumps across the year but we have also enjoyed socials with other colleges and dinners with alumni. We welcome Georgia and Alex, the new captains for this year, who have high ambitions to maintain the welcoming CCBC community and increasing engagement with mature students.
There are also now individuals on both the Men’s and Women’s sides intending to trial with CUBC this coming academic year after successfully rowing with M1 and W1. We have Captained this club as a team and it has been thehighlightofourtimeat Cambridge; welookforward to continuing to be involved as we finish our degrees (Katy Medicine,Rich PhDinNeuroscience).Weare thrilled to be passing the reins over to Georgia Denham (Women’s Captain and Captain of Boats) and Alexander Holmes (Men’s Captain) who are already doing some great things for the club (more about them later in the newsletter). We are incredibly excited to see how the club continues to develop under their lead!
of our predecessors, Herbie and Erin, we started this year with 10 crews between novices and seniors. With great novice retention we have finished this year with 7 senior crews (plus a few rowers spare), and after accounting for graduations, CCBC will potentially go intothe next academic yearwith 5or6 senior crews,the largest the club has been in some time. Alongside the growth of the club we have also borne witness to deepening engagement of current students with our alumni, something we have truly cherished, in addition to increased involvement with the wider college community and the Fellows, who we have now started their own boat (that rows outside of Town Bumps)!
New Committee Introduction
My name is Alex a second year biology PhD student working on malaria and your Men’s Captain for the next academic year. I’ve been rowing with CCBC for just over a year now, originally starting on a post lockdown whim to try something new and quickly fell in love with the sport. Having never rowed before coming to Cambridge, I enjoyed the friendly community and strive for self improvement that the club provides. I joined M2 during Michaelmas and subsequently took over as its Captain throughout our very successful Lent Bumps campaign (bumping up twice!) and Easter term. My job as Men’s Captain is to help the Men’s side achieve their potential by overseeing our training and development. Much as my mullet, my Captaining philosophy is ‘Business at the Front, Party at the Back’ I will push for us to build on our successes while maintaining our fun and social spirit. I look forward to working with Georgia, the committee, and all our members to create a welcoming, competitive, and united club.
Emily Durling (Secretary)
Alix Danis (Publicity Officer)
Hello I’m Lizzie and I’m very excited to be LBC in Michaelmas. Istarted rowingas a novice when Iarrived in Cambridge last October and have fallen in love with the sport and the community at CCBC since then. I began rowing in NW1 and then moved to W3 in Lent and finally into W2 in Easter term, so in a short time have got to know a large part of the women’s side. I’m really looking forward to expanding the boatclub community to a new wave of novices and passing on all the amazing joy that rowingcan bring to the Cambridge experience.
Hi, I’m Alix, a second yearLand Economist and will be the publicity and sponsorship officer this year. I was a novice in Michaelmas 2021 and joined W1 in Easter term. I am looking forward to reporting and taking pictures of all our brilliant rowers and their successes through handling the club’s social media, as well as working alongside the captains to organise the France trip (fingers crossed)! My role also involes working with sponsors by being the main point of contact between them and the boatclub.
Hi, I’m Will and I’m a second year economist. I’ve enjoyed shouting at 8 people each morning and all the benefits of the boatclub without the pains of the erg by being a cox. I started as a novice with NW1, then coxed W2 in Lent followed by M1 in Easter. I’m looking forward to working with new coxes and doing more shouting! Head of the Cam
Partly owing to lack of interest from other members in taking over the role, and partly owing to the lucrative 5% commission I’ve been taking from boat club bank transfers (hush hush…), I have decided to stay on for another year as Treasurer! After having a great time rowing with M1 all 3 terms last year, Iwill be away this year from CCBC attempting to make it into the lightweight blue boat. However, I will nonetheless try and stay in contact with the new members and ensure that the boat club thrives both financially and athletically. With all the finance upheaval over the covid period which I have had to deal with, I am very much looking forward to what will (hopefully) be a somewhat quieter year working as CCBC Treasurer alongside the new captains and the whole committee!
The weekend before the start of term, before many of our members had even returned to Cambridge, CCBC took on Head of the Cam. This year, in addition to our usual,excellentshowingfromouralumni whoentered three crews with the help of a few last minute subs from our students, our captains included (with Katy as a cox) we also entered an M1/W1 composite crew (Cox:
Hello prospective rowers I’m Tom, I’ll be one of the lower boat captains for this coming year 2022 23. I started rowing last year after having watched my fellow econs row during my first year. Last year I went from a novice crew to rowing in M2 in both lent and Easter, having a great time while doing it. I can’t wait to meet all the new novices and building an even more fun and tight knit community in the best boat club on the river!
Tamás Vámos (Lower Boat’s Captain)
Sarah Clark (Lower Boat’s Captain)
Hi guys, I’m James and I’m one of the men’s lower boats captains for 2022 23. I’m a third year maths student and I started rowing last year as a complete novice and went on to join M2 for both of Lent and Easter term. I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the boat club committee to make sure this years novices are left with no choice but to enjoy the early morning starts!”
James Morris (Lower Boat’s Captain)
Alex Tocher (Treasurer)
Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m one of the women’s LBC’s. I am in my second year studying history. I started rowing in Michaelmas last year, caught the rowing bug and am now looking forward to introducing more people to the sport!
Immi Sandhu (Social Secretary) Hello, I’m Immi, a third year Geographer and will be social secretary this year. The role itself puts socials, swaps with other colleges, cocktails, and boat club dinners mostly in my hands, and I hope to keep these as fun and welcoming as I experienced during my time in theboatclubasacoxlast year.Iwouldliketofindsome new locations for socials and strengthen our relationships within the rowing/coxing community at Christ’s through these events!
Thomas Richards (Lower Boat’s Captain)
Hello I am AnaRosa Capp, second year HSPS student and LBC this year! I'm really excited to introduce new novices to the wonderful sport of rowing as well help laythefoundationsforfutureyearsofsuccessfulracing. I rowed in Dublin before coming to Cambridge, joining Christ's W1 in 2021. The social atmosphere of the club has been one of my favorite parts of life in Cambridge. Ican'twaittoexpandCCBCwithanewcropofnovices.
Lizzie Snow (Lower Boat’s Captain)
Hey everyone! I'm Tomi, one of the LBCs on the men’s side this year. I'm in my third year of studying economics and have rowed since I joined Christ's. Part of my great experiences is a spoons campaign with M1 and (only) a minus 2 with M2. I am looking forward to teaching the next generation of novices so that they can have a great time rowing and racing on the Cam Will Knights (Coxing representative)
Ana Rosa Capp (Lower Boat’s Captain)
City Sprints
Training Camp Fundraiser
From the 2nd 4th September, CCBC will be collectively covering 1111km by erg, swim, cycle, run and walk a mighty distance that would take us comfortably to mainland Europe. Training camp is an important opportunity for our crews to put in dedicated time and get ready for bumps. We’re hoping to raise £3000tomakeit moreaccessibleforall students.Please donate to the following CAF https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/21459page: Due to increased costs, we're hoping to raise £3000 to make it more accessible for all students. Thank you so much for any support you’re able to give!
In the weekend that traditionally holds C Sunday, City of Cambridge Rowing Club offers City Sprints, a 500 metre side by side regatta on the Long Reach, with livestream coverage and (importantly) a bar. CCBC entered 3 competitors Alex Tocher and Max Fenner in the M1x category, and a W2/3 composite scratch crew in the W2 8+ category. It was a great day, with a number of CCBC members turning up to watch and support our members with a pint or 2 of Pimms in hand and the sun blazing down. Our W2/3 crew put in a great race, but sadly lost a tough first draw against Wolfson W1 by a narrow margin (not helped by the appearance of the feared crab). Alex Tocher had a strong race, but losttoSilasRuhrbergofKCBC.However,MaxFenner, W1coachthisyear,alreadythroughtothesecondround on a bye, put in a great couple of races to win the M1x division! He beat his opponent from Churchill College in a 1 on 1 race. His previous race in a single was in Philadelphia on the Schuylkill river in the summer on 2014, and as a result, Max didn’t experience much of a challenge. Big congratulations to him for the gold!
Our thanks also go to Peter Hobson for organising the Head of the Cam dinner at Sidney Sussex and for extending the invitation to include the wider boat club. It was an evening enjoyed by students and alumni alike, with representation from both even ending up at a bar until the early hours of the following morning a great way to finish off a day’s racing!
Felix, Str: Alex Tocher, 7: Camille McCarthy, 6: Mikesh Patel, 5: Rich Turner, 4: Iiris T. Toom, 3: Georgia Denham, 2: Katy Hempson, Bow: Mateo Hoare). This was the one and only time that our Captains, Katy and Rich have entered a race together and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable of their rowingcareersto date! Notonlydid thecomposite crew win the mixed 8 category, with a time of 9:44 beating the nearest category competitor by 1:43 over the 2.6 km course, they also beat St Edmunds M1 and Tit Hall M1 (and Crustaceans M1, if not time adjusted)!
