St Catharine's College Boat Club

3/9 in M2 category - 8:24

After bank partying for M1, and hearing them say that rowing in the wind was like "doing a bench press to get the blade in the water, and then a leg press to push the boat", I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the race! However, with a strong crew (Owen in for Ben at 2 being the only sub), I was confident we could do well, and that we'd need the experience of rowing in such a strong wind.

Welcome to St Catharine's!

You possibly haven't rowed (or coxed!) before, but you're at the best place to start. College rowing caters for all shapes, sizes and abilities, and SCCBC is a prime example. Whether you fancy yourself as the next George Nash (former Catz student and 2012/16 Olympic medallist) or whether you just want to have a bit of fun and get away from work, rowing at Catz will suit you. We also have a strong social side, with regular crew swaps and curry nights, as well as the infamous end of term Boat Club Dinners.

Despite COVID the committee is working to make sure we can all enjoy rowing safely in 2020-21 with a combination of online and on the water training. Feel fee to take a look at our COVID Policy and if you have any further concerns or worries contact any of the Lower Boat Captains (emails below).

Click here for a map to the newly refurbished boathouse, and here for a map of the stretch of the Cam that we predominantly row on.

Until the end of Michaelmas, the Novice squad provides an opportunity for those with no prior experience of rowing (the overwhelming majority of rowers at Cambridge) to have a bit of fun and get to grips with the basics, whilst those who've rowed before train with the Senior squad. From then on the two squads are combined, making the 1st boats accessible to anyone, regardless of prior experience.

The culmination of the year is May Bumps, a form of (questionably) organised carnage. Held over four days, much of the university hits the riverbank to watch 17 crews at a time attempt to crash into (or 'bump') the crew ahead of them, without getting bumped by the one behind. As well as being the student sporting event with the widest participation in the country (over 1500 competitors last year!), it is also one of the most intense adrenaline-fuelled experiences you can have at University.

It's all rather fun.

We look forward to seeing you at the once we all are in Cambridge for the beginning of term! If you have any queries, or would like to express your interest, then please contact the one of the Lower Boat Captains:
Rory Cockshaw (rc794@cam.ac.uk), George Aylard (ga402@cam.ac.uk), Gustavs Mezciems (gjm50@cam.ac.uk), Edgar Hibbins (ewhh2@cam.ac.uk)

Rowed Over

We knew it was all or nothing today. We knew we didn't deserve spoons. We knew that the results hadn't been doing our rowing justice.

We rowed down to the start, not the world's best paddle, but we knew we had to conserve energy for a long row-over. The first start was delayed due to a large island of weeds that had drifted into the middle of the river - we'd wondered why we were the only boat in the middle of the river with 6 seconds to go until the gun!

Bumped by Pembroke II

After the Catz curse struck again, Lothar injuring his knee during Saturday's outing, we once again found ourselves in the position of having to row a bumps race with a sub, and hence a crew that had spent a total of 1 hour together on the water. Jon came into the boat at 3, so that Ivan moved to 2 and I sat at 4. However, the paddling and the practice start were very promising, and the crew started to gel well.