friends of the Boat cluB re-launch

Dan Harvey Maths, 2005

The Friends of MCBC is the alumni branch of the Boat Club. While it has existed in different guises since the early days of the club, it has not been active for a number of years. That, however, is changing. With a small committee of former rowers we are hoping to raise the profile of the club among its former active members, aiming to support the long-term prosperity and continued success of rowing at Mansfield College.

We have begun by establishing an annual drinks event for Boat Club alumni, based in London at the Oxford and Cambridge Club. In 2013, the event was attended by 40 rowers from a range of eras – with each decade from the 1960s having at least one representative. We hope to grow the event in the future as it gives us a great opportunity to come together as a club, meet old friends and reminisce about ‘the good old days’. The date of this year’s event is still to be confirmed, but is expected to be 2nd April 2014. More information will follow. We have also had a successful reunion of the 2003 men’s crew, who won five-bump Blades in Summer Eights. They even managed a post-dinner row on the Sunday, proving to all who saw it that rowing is, indeed, just like riding a bike.

As every rower is aware, rowing is an expensive sport and boats and oars do not last forever. Consequently, we have begun fundraising for an endowment that will secure the future of the club. We want to ensure that future Mansfield students are given the same opportunities that we had to begin our rowing careers. By establishing this fund, with the backing of the College, we are giving everybody the opportunity to give something back that will benefit our club for many years to come. If you are interested in helping with our efforts or wish to reconnect with the club, please get in touch with me at: danielharvey458@gmail.com