Michaelmas Term 2016
Cambridge Autumn Regatta – 10th Sep
W1 IV+ – 1st place
W2 IV+ – 1st place
Well done to the women’s 4+ who won both the IM3 and IM2 categories at Cambridge Autumn Regatta. Great start to the year!
Autumn Head – 15th Oct
M1 – 1st place
W1 VIII+ – 1st place
M2 IV- – good row
W2 IV+ – 1st place
Great start to the season for DCBC at Rob Roy Autumn Head on Saturday! With wins in the Men’s College 1st 8+, Women’s IM3 8+ and Women’s IM3 4+! As well as an impressive row from the Men’s 4- in an uncontested category. A massive congratulations to all that took part!
Photo Credits: Bjoern Alexander Zeeb
University Fours – 24th to 28th Oct
M1 – 1st place
W1 – 2nd place
M2 – 3rd place
W2 – 2nd place
A huge well done to all the crews who represented DCBC in the University Fours this week! We fielded four crews, a big improvement on recent years reflecting the strong numbers in the senior squads at the moment. M2 made it to the semis, whilst W1 and W2 both lost closely fought finals against Lady Margaret. Lastly, congratulations to M1, who won the coxless fours. More details on the race results can be found on the CUCBC website, (M1, W1, M2, W2).
Queens’ Ergs – 8th Nov
NW1 – 1st place
NM2 – 2nd place
Well done to all our novices who took part in Queens’ Ergs! There were some fantastic scores all round, but special mention to NW1 who won their heat and to NM2 who came second in their division!!
Fours Head, (London) – 12th Nov
W1 – 25th place
W1 had a great time racing IVs Head! It was everyone’s first time on the Tideway, and we were happy to finish 25th in the IM2 category. A marshal also awarded us the best kit of the day!! A huge well done to all our triallists as well, especially Holly who won the Women’s Elite 4- with CUW!
Winter Head – 19th Nov
W1 – 1st place
M1 – 3rd place
We had a great time at Winter Head on Saturday, giving this year’s novices a taste of rowing in 4 composite crews with the seniors!!Luckily the only crab was caught before the start line… W1 and M1 also raced in the full senior crews and placed 1st and 3rd in their respective categories. Bring on Fairbairn’s!
Clare Novice Regatta ( 8th Thursday – 8th Saturday)
NM1 – Reached the Quarter-final
NW1 – Reached the Quarter-final
NM2 – 2nd Place
NW2 – Reached the Quarter-final
NW3 – Reached the Quarter-final
Well done to all our crews who made the quarter-final, mostly losing by very close margins. Particular congratulations to NM2 for reaching the final, only to be narrowly beat by Caius NM2. Full results can be found on Clare College Boat Club’s website.
Fairbairn Cup, (Jesus)
DCBC fielded 7 crews for the Fairbairns!! A huge well done to our novices, who’ve all made remarkable improvement this term and gained some very nice results! NW1 were joint 8th, NM1 10th, NW2 8th, NM2 5th and NM3 11th in their respective divisions. And congratulations to our senior crews – M1 were the fastest Cambridge college and W1 came 2nd. But before we start training for the Lents – to dinner!!
Novices – 1st Dec
NW1 – 8th place
NM1 – 10th place
NW2 – 8th fastest NW2
NM2 – 5th fastest NM2
NM3 – 11th fastest NM2
Seniors – 2nd Dec
M1 – 1st place
W1 – 2nd place
Lent Term 2017
Winter Head to Head – 28th Jan
W1 – 2nd place
M1 – 1st place
W2 – 3rd in Division
M2 – 6th in Division
DCBC fielded four crews in our first race of Lent Term, the Winter Head to Head. We produced some solid results, with M2 6th and W2 3rd in their respective divisions and W1 finishing as the second fastest women’s VIII. Special congratulations to M1, who were the fastest men’s VIII overall and the quickest college VIII by 11s!! Time to get stuck into training for Bumps!
Newnham Head – 4th Feb
W2 – 2nd fastest W2
A huge well done to W2 for a phenomenal race performance at the weekend! Our ladies placed as the 2nd fastest W2 in Newnham Shortcourse, and were the 7th fastest overall women’s crew. Bring on bumps!!
Robinson Head – 10th Feb
M1 – 1st Place
A second win for M1 this term in Robinson Head – congratulations boys!!
Pembroke Regatta – 18th Feb
M1 – 2nd place
W2 – Knocked out in round 2
M2 – Knocked out in round 1
Pembroke Regatta is always a fun time for our rowers! They put in all their effort. M1 were runners-up, losing to Maggie by 1/2 length in the final. W2 narrowly lost to Clare W2 in the second round. M2 were knocked out by Clare M2 in the first round, losing by 1/2 length. The side-by-side racing proved exciting as always, and has got everyone raring for Lent Bumps in a week’s time!
Lent Bumps – 28th Feb to 4th March
Day 1: A fantastic first day for DCBC at Lent Bumps! M2 bumped Queen’s M2, the first bump for M2 since 2014!! Special mention today, though, goes to W2 who OVERBUMPED Trinity Hall W2!!
Day 2: W2 went two for two with another bump today, this time catching Anglia Ruskin W1!! W1 put in a strong race to row over as second on the river. And crew of the day has to be M1, who bumped Caius at the top of the reach to claim the Headship! The boys will now be doing all they can to maintain that coveted top spot for the rest of the week.
Day 3: M2 played a merry game of cat and mouse with Darwin M1 before catching them at the railway bridge! W1 pulled off another strong race, rowing over at second on the river. M1 successfully rowed over and are keen to defend the Headship again tomorrow! W2 had a day off from the bumps excitement today and will hope to continue their move up the bumps charts tomorrow!
Day 4: M2 rowed over, gaining on FaT M2 but unfortunately unable to close the gap before Trinity bumped Selwyn in front of them. W1 also rowed over, still holding second place on the river overall. M1 experienced a cruel twist of fate when a broken rudder meant they crashed on the Long Reach and were overtaken by LMBC. Tomorrow our boys will be demonstrating that hell hath no fury like a thwarted rower! Crew of the day has to be W2 once more, who went 3 for 3 by bumping Clare Hall W1 within the first two minutes of the race. There’s now one day left of Bumps and it’s shaping up to provide some exciting racing!! If W2 can complete their week with a clean sweep they will achieve blades, an impressive feat, especially for an almost entirely novice crew! And with W1 and M1 second on the river, both headships are still within reach!
Day 5: W2 won not just blades, but SUPERBLADES, by moving up 6 places in 4 days!! M2 went up 3 and finished the week by getting embroiled in some typical bumps carnage on Grassy Corner. W1 produced four fantastic rows this week and came heart-wrenchingly close to bumping Jesus for the top spot on Saturday. Our ladies truly lived up to our feroces ad mortem motto yesterday. Thanks to Jesus W1 for four great races and congratulations on their Headship! M1 started the week by taking the Headship from Caius M1 but were knocked down to second on day 3 when a snapped rudder wire meant a collision with the bank. Our boys gave it their all on the final day but ultimately could not reclaim the top position.
Overall, though, an excellent week for the club!! Both first boats are in a position to launch a 2018 Headship campaign and the remarkable results of our second boats bode well for the strength of the club in coming years.
The full results can be found here for the Men, and here for the Women. Please also check out the gallery of the event, as well as our crew lists for the Men, and the Women.
| Crew | Starting Position | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Ending Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 2nd in First Division | Bumped Caius M1 | Rowed Over | Bumped by Lady Margaret M1 | Rowed Over | 2nd in First Division |
| W1 | 2nd in First Division | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | Bumped by Clare W1 | 3rd in First Division |
| M2 | 13th in Second Division | Bumped Queens’ M2 | Bumped Darwin M1 | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | 11th in Second Division |
| W2 | 15th in Third Division | Bumped Trinity Hall W2 | Bumped Anglia Ruskin | Bumped Clare Hall W1 | Bumped Darwin W2 | 9th in Third Division |
Women’s Eights Head of the River Race – 11th March
W1 took to the Tideway to row in the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race! For most of the crew it was their first time racing in such a big event and we were happy to come 107th overall!
Head of the River Amstel, (Amsterdam) – 18th March
Downing men’s squad took on the Head of the River Amstel in Amsterdam on Saturday! The crew was most of our Lents M1, plus Nathan from M2 and alumni Brennen and Victor. We rowed out of Skøll boat club, which Hilde kindly organised for us. We raced 8 kilometres through the rain, finishing in a time of 26:49 to come fourth in the club division after overtaking two crews and almost catching a couple more at the finish line! It was a great experience and we look forward to coming back another year.
Easter Term 2017
Smaller Boats Regatta
Maiden Sculls – 26th April
Hilde Taverne – 1st Place
Congratulations to Hilde Taverne, who won the Maiden Sculls in the Small Boats Regatta today, her first ever race in a single! Well done Hildy!! The race tree can be found here.
Spring Head to Head – 29th April
W1 – 2nd Place
M1 – 3rd Place
W2 – 1st Place
M2 – 4th Place
Well done to all our crews who race in the Spring Head to Head – especially the women squads for coming 2nd and 1st in their divisions! More detailed results can be found here.
Champs VIIIs Regatta – 21st May
W1 – 3rd Place
M1 – 5th Place
W2 – 1st Place
M2 – 12th Place
Well done to all our crews who race in Champs Head – especially the women squads for coming 3rd and 1st in their divisions! More detailed results can be found here.
Metropolitan Amateur Regatta – 4th June
M1 IV+ – 1st in Division
DCBC’s first four celebrated finishing (most of) their exams by heading to the Met Regatta! The crew managed to win the Tier 4 Coxed Fours competition, despite Charlie almost putting his eye out by walking into a trailer. Now back into the eight and ready for bumps! You can find more details about the results of page 75 here. Crew: Charles Slater, Andrew Niven, Jack Pearce, Ryan Macpherson, [Cox] Edward Bryan.
May Bumps – 14th to 17th June
Day 1: M3 put in a gutsy row but were bumped by FaT M4. W2 fought their way out of the sandwich boat position! They first rowed over comfortably at the head of division 3, then bumped Caius W2 just after the motorway bridge. M2 today claimed the bump on Darwin M1 that proved so elusive last year! W1 fought hard and rowed well but were ultimately caught by Caius W1 on the Long Reach. Well done to Caius for a great race, but that’s not to say we won’t be trying to take the Headship back! M1 put in a spectacular row today, keeping their cool when Peterhouse M1 got within a canvas of bumping them going around Ditton Corner. Our boys pushed them away and instead furiously chased FaT M1 down the Reach, catching them just after the railway bridge. Lastly a big thank you to everyone cheering for us from the banks/other boats, your support is much appreciated.
Day 2: M3 were unlucky to be bumped again, this time by Churchill M3. Tomorrow they’ll be out for vengeance. W2 went 2 for 2, bumping Queens’ W2 just after the motorway bridge and just before Queens’ could secure a bump of their own! M2 had a solitary row over today, the boats in front and behind having bumped out. Nevertheless our boys put in a good row and gained some ground on the crews further up the charts. W1 did themselves proud again today, rowing well and fighting hard to fend off Jesus W1. They made a good move outside the Plough to open up the gap again but were ultimately caught by Jesus on the reach. M1 had a better start today than yesterday, leaving FaT M1 behind them in the dust. Our boys steadily but surely ate up the gap between them and Jesus M1, securing the bump halfway down the reach. Their boat did come off slightly worse for wear though, their bow ball sacrificed to the Jesus’ cox’s stubbornly late concession!
| Crew | Starting Position | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Ending Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 7th in First Division | Bumped First and Third M1 | Bumped Jesus M1 | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | 5th in First Division |
| W1 | 1st in First Division | Bumped by Caius W1 | Bumped by Jesus W1 | Bumped by Emmanuel W1 | Bumped by Newnham W1 | 5th in First Division |
| M2 | 13th in Second Division | Bumped Darwin M1 | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | Bumped Jesus M2 | 11th in Second Division |
| W2 | 1st in Third Division | Bumped Caius W2 | Bumped Queens’ W2 | Rowed Over | Bumped Corpus Christi W1 | 15th in Second Division |
| M3 | 17th in Fourth Division | Bumped by First and Third M4 | Bumped by Churchill M3 | Bumped by Caius M4 | Bumped by Trinity Hall M3 | 4th in Fifth Division |
The full results can be found here for the Men, and here for the Women. Please also check out the gallery of the event, as well as our crew lists for the Men, and the Women.
