Michaelmas Term 2018
Cambridge Autumn Regatta – 9th Sep
M1 – 1st place
A great start to the year for Downing coming first in the first division of the open eights race – well done to the crew!
Autumn Head – 13th Oct
M1 – 2nd place
W1 – 4th place
M2 – 2nd fastest M2
W2 IV+ – 3rd fastest IV+
DCBC raced at Rob Roy Autumn Head on the Cam. Strong headwinds in our division made for difficult and testing racing conditions. Despite this our boats battled through to produce some impressive results. DCBC’s Women Segreants also raced in preparation for their trip to Boston to race the Head of the Charles this weekend.
Fours Head in London – 3rd Nov
Downing fielded 3 crews at Fours Head in London. Impressive rowing in tough conditions produced some very good times:
M1 ‘A’ – 21:14.0
M1 ‘B’ – 22:20.1
W1 – 24:15.6
Some more photos of the men and women crews can also be found.
Winter Head – 17th Nov
M1 – 1st Place
W1 – 3rd Place
M2 – 4th fastest M2
W2 IV+ – 2nd fastest W2
M3 – strong performance
DCBC fielded an impressive 8 crews at the Cantabs Cambridge Winter Head. Strong rowing from all produced some very good results.
M1 topped their category and jointly won the race overall, sharing the top spot with Heidelberger Ruderklub 1872 A. W1 also had a good race, beating many rivals to secure a strong 3rd place among the Cambridge colleges. With M2 being the 4th fastest M2, W2 4+ the 2nd fastest W2 4+, and M3 beating other college’s M2 boats, it would be hard not to agree that DCBC is in a very good position for Fairbairn’s in under 2 weeks time.
The racing didn’t stop here however. 3 senior-novice composites also rowed. The novices all showed great promise and rowed very well in their first race. We wish them luck today as they race in Emma Sprints, and next weekend in Clare Novices!
Emma Sprints Regatta – 18th Nov
NW1 – 1st Place
NM1 – Knocked out in the second round
NW2 – Great Performance
We were able to enter three novice crews into the first novice race of term – Emma Sprints!
NW1 put in 4 very impressive rows win the NW1 division after a very exciting final. This is a historic result and shows great commitment from the girls! Unfortunately while NM1 took a narrow victory in their first race, and rowed well with impressive costumes, they couldn’t quite hold their own in the second race. NW2 had kicked off the day with a narrow loss to the eventual winners of their category before pulling it out of the bag to win their second race.
Clare Novice Regatta – 22nd to 24th Nov
NW1 – 3rd Place
NW2 – 2nd Place
NM1 & NM2 – Knocked out in first round
We were lucky to enter four novice crews into Clare Novices!
Congratulations are in order for NW1 who made it to their semi-final and NW2 for getting to the final of their division! Commiserations go to NM1 and NM2 who were unfortunately both knocked out in the first round. Despite the mixed bag of results all crews are currently looking forward to Fairbairn’s which starts tomorrow with the novice races!
Fairbairn Cup, (Jesus)
The Fairbairn Cup takes place over two days ā the novices row on the Thursday, and the seniors on the Friday. We were fortunate to enter 4 novice crews and 6 senior crews in Fairbairn’s this year! You can view our gallery of the event here, and full provisional results can be found here..
Novices – 29th Nov
NW1 – 2nd in Division
NW2 – 3rd in Division
NW3 – 2nd in Division
NM1 – 31st Overall
Very windy conditions led to the course being shortened and made rowing and steering a challenge! nevertheless our novices pulled though to produce some very impressive results. These results are testament to the hard work that they’ve put in this term along with the amazing job that both the LBC’s and coaches have done.
NW1 had an outstanding row to secure 2nd place overall, the best result DCBC has seen in novice Fairbairn’s for years! NW2 produced an equally impressive row to come 3rd in the 2nd division. NW3 followed suit and produced a strong 2nd place in their division. Unfortunately, buffeted by the wind, NM1 crashed on the course but fought back to come 31st overall.
Seniors – 30th Nov
W1 – 5th in Division
M1 – 2nd in Division
M2 – 5th fastest M2
M3 – 2nd fastest M3
W2 IV+ and M2 IV+ – Great performances
Fairbairn’s was the culmination of a term’s hard work. The races were followed by the boat club dinner which was enjoyed by all!
M1 produced an outstanding row, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Jesus, the next fastest Cambridge college, and 39 seconds ahead of Caius, their direct competition in the Lents. Sadly this row wasn’t enough to secure them the win and they placed 2nd, 5 seconds behind Oriel Oxford W1 equally had an impressive row to secure a solid 5th place among the Cambridge colleges. Although slightly disappointed with the result, time gaps from races earlier in the term were closed and the boat is showing great promise as we look towards the Lent Bumps.
M2 came in as the 5th fastest M2 on the day while M3 were the 2nd fastest M3. A great result for both boats. DCBC also fielded 2 IV+’s – the W2 IV+ and a scratch Menās IV+. Both crews performed really well and were pleased with their results. The fantastic set of results across the board shows the depth and strength of the club currently and we look forward to the rest of the academic year!
CCRC Christmas Head Race – 8th Dec
M1 – 1st Place
W1/2 – Good Row
DCBC’s M1 and W1 entered the CCRC Christmas Head Race. M1 won both their category and the race overall by a substantial margin. The W1/2 composite put in an equally impressive performance to produce a good time but were the only boat in their category. Credit goes to them for putting in substantially more effort to have fun than M1. Both crews are currently training hard over the Christmas break before our January training camp and the Lents campaign starts. The full results can be found here.
Credit goes to A Cambridge Diary for the excellent photographs.
Lent Term 2019
Winter Head to Head – 26th Jan
M1 – 2nd Place
W1 – 4th Place
M2 – 3rd Fastest Second Boat
W2 – 1st Fastest Second Boat
M3 – 2nd Fastest Third Boat
W3 – 2nd Fastest Second Boat
Off the back of our winter training camp in sunny Spain, DCBC fielded an impressive 6 crews in the Winter Head to Head race this weekend, a 2 by 2k event with little time between each leg. The standard of rowing across all crews was impressive and showed with some top results: M1 finished second overall, with W1 the fourth placed women’s boat; M2 were the third fastest second boat with M3 the second fastest third boat; W2, complete with returning cox Tristan, were far and away the quickest second boat, taking out a number of first boats in the process; W3, the first one Downing has fielded for several years, were also the second fastest third boat.
Special mention must go to all new seniors who were racing in their first senior race, and Merryn Trevitt who made the step up into W1 after only 3 months of rowing. All crews are now looking forward to a few hard weeks of training before their next races. They will be looking to turn those second places into wins, ready to go into bumps at the beginning of March.
After, at the boathouse, DCBC hosted the first ever family day which proved to be a hugely successful event. Parents were treated to a buffet style lunch and an open bar before having the opportunity to try rowing on the Cambridge Rowing Tank and in our tub. A full set of photos from the Family Day event can be found here.
Images from the event can be found here.
Newnham Shortcourse – 2nd Feb
W2 – 1st Place
We only entered one crew into the Newnham Shortcourse. W2 raced the Newnham Shortcourse (2k bridge to bridge). An impressive row saw them win the W2 category! Bring on bumps 
Bedford Eights and Fours Head – 9th Feb
M1 – 2nd Place
W1 – 2nd Place
Downing send 2 boats away to Bedford to compete in Bedford Head. An early start allowed both M1 and W1 to race in the first 2 divisions of the day, each rowing the same course twice.
M1’s first run saw them provisionally top the charts as the rain started while W1 also went into first place in the top women’s category. The rain threatened to dampen spirits but the crews set equally competitive second runs. As times came in over the day M1 were challenged but remained joint winner of the men’s second category and in second place overall. W1 finished the day in second place to Jesus W1, a strong result that the crew will be looking to build from.
Some videos can be found of the crews on our Facebook post here.
Pembroke Regatta – 16th Feb
W1 – 3rd place
M1 – 2nd Place
W2 – 1st Place
M2 – 3rd Place
W3 – 1st Place
M3 – 3rd Place
DCBC entered 6 crews into Pembroke Regatta and produced some fantastic results with all crews reaching the semi-finals at least.
W1 produced strong rows to reach the semi-finals but were then unfortunately knocked out by Caius W1. M1 produced some solid rowing but unfortunately were beaten by Caius M1 in the final.
W2 were the dominant boat on the river, beating all their opposition by some distance and winning the W2 category overall. No small feat, especially as the majority of the boat had never rowed this time last year! M2 rowed impressively to reach the semi-finals before unfortunately being beaten by Pembroke M2, the eventual winners of the M2 category.
W3 also saw success, producing stellar rows to win the W3 category! M3 also reached the semi-finals before being knocked out.
All crews are feeling motivated and looking forward to the bumps in 2 weeks time!
Lent Bumps – 5th to 9th March
Day 1: M3 had a great row, catching St Edmunds M2, rowing past them just after grassy corner. W2 again proved their dominance, steaming up first post reach to bump Jesus W3 on first post corner. M2 rowed well – results are awaiting confirmation.
Day 2: M3 – Despite having an impressive start and closing Wolfson M2 to half a length through the gut the boys couldnāt quite seal the deal but rowed over in style. W2 – After stopping in the race due to a blocked river, W2 were granted a re-row, chasing Queens W2. Impressive rowing from the girls saw them make the bump on the inside of grassy. W1 – Whilst the girls rowed well and closed the gap to Jesus, they were unfortunately caught by Newnham on Ditton corner. They now sit 3rd on the river and are ready to give it their all again tomorrow. M1 – With Caius bumping Maggie ahead on the river, M1 had a confident row over. They also sit 3rd and are ready to go for the bump on Maggie tomorrow!
Day 3: M3 – A gutsy row by M3 saw them close Wolfson M2 down to an overlap. However, having given it their all they were unfortunately bumped by Hughes Hall M2. M2 – M2 produced a strong and confident row-over to hold their position for tomorrow when they’ll be chasing Clare M2. W1 – Despite putting in another strong row W1 were unfortunately caught by Emma W1 on Ditton Corner. M1 – M1 had a good shot at Maggie M1 but couldn’t close the gap today. They’ll be back tomorrow to give it another go.
Day 4: W2 – W2 again showed their dominance making their 3rd bump of the week, bumping Christs W2 before they reached First Post corner. Tomorrow they return to take a stab at blades! M2 – A really strong row from M2 saw them bump Clare M2, moving themselves back up the charts to their original station from the start of the week. Both W1 and M1 rowed over the course confidently, with little pressure from behind. They’ll both be gunning for the bump tomorrow.
Day 5: M3 – With boats bumping out in front of them, M3 had to go for the over-bump. The boys managed to close the gap significantly but couldnāt quite make it. W2 – Another dominant row saw W2 bump Catz W2 on first post corner. This means theyāve bumped on all 4 days and have earned blades! M2 – After the river was blocked by a bump further up the division M2 were granted a rerow. The boys stayed calm and produced a confident row-over. W1 – W1 rowed over the course with confidence and style. M1 – The boys produced their best row of the week and closed Maggie M1 down to a canvas along Plough reach. Unfortunately up the reach Maggie pulled away slightly, resulting in a gutsy row over for M1.
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 | 3rd in First Division | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | 3rd in First Division |
| W1 | 2nd in First Division | Bumped by Newnham W1 | Bumped by Emmanuel W1 | Rowed Over | Rowed Over | 4th in First Division |
| M2 | 16th in Second Division | Bumped by Pembroke M2 | Rowed Over | Bumped Clare M2 | Rowed Over | 16th in Second Division |
| W2 | 7th in Third Division | Bumped Jesus W3 | Bumped Queens’ W2 | Bumped Christ’s W2 | Bumped St. Catharine’s W2 | 3rd in Third Division Blades!! |
| M3 | 5th in Fourth Division | Bumped St. Edmund’s M2 | Rowed Over | Bumped by Hughes Hall M2 | Rowed Over | 5th in Fourth Division |
The Head of the River Race – 30th March
Downing raced at the Menās HORR with an M1/2 composite finishing with an impressive time of 20:18.4.
Full results can be found here.
Easter Term 2019
Smaller Boats Regatta – 22nd to 24th April
We ended up fielding only one crew in the small boats regatta – the stern pair from our W1!
Foster-Fairbairn Pairs (Women) – 24th April
Katherine Robinson & Georgina Frater – 3rd place
Downing fielded a women’s pair, featuring the stern pair of the Lent W1 crew – Katherine Robinson and Georgina Frater. Recently new to the boat, they did very well to finish third and set up a good start to the Easter term.
More details about the results can be found here.
Head of the Cam – 27th April
W1 – 2nd Place
M1 – 2nd Place
W2 – 4th Place
M2 – 2nd Place
Alumni Women – 2nd Place
Alumni Men – 2nd Place
DCBC held its annual Segreants day. The day was a great success with both students and alumni racing the head of the Cam during the day and producing some impressive results despite the very windy conditions making for tough work.
W1, M1 and M2 all came 2nd in their respective categories, and W2 came 4th. DCBC also had two alumni boats racing who both came 2nd in their categories. The racing was followed by an exhibition of the boat club’s silver ware, use of the Cambridge Rowing Tank and then an enjoyable dinner. We’re grateful to everyone came and made it such a special day and are already looking forward to next year!
A more detailed set of results can be found here.
Spring Head to Head – 4th May
W1 – 2nd Place
M1 – 2nd Place
W2 – 2nd fastest W2
M2 – 4th fastest M2
W3 – 3rd fastest W3
M3 – 2nd fastest M3
DCBC had a very busy weekend with races for 11 crews across 2 days of competition.
Saturday saw Spring Head to Head where DCBC fielded M1 (pictured), M2, M3, W1, W2 and W3. The race featured 2 consecutive 2k races with times added together for the final results.
M1 and W1 both finished in second place with M2 2nd fastest second crew and M3 second fastest third crew.W2 sadly could only complete one leg of their race but were the 2nd fastest second crew up to that point. W3 broke the curse to be the 3rd fastest third crew.
Overall a very strong set of results with many Downing crews beating their main rivals for the May bumps.
More information and details about the results can be found here.
City Sprints – 5th May
W1 – 1st Place
W2 – 1st Place
M1 – 1st Place
M2 – 2nd Place
M3 – good row
Continuing the big weekend Downing entered M1, M2, M3, W1 and W2 into city sprints.
W1 kicked off the day competing in the women’s coxed fours. Having taken a total of 2 strokes in the boat before the first race the crew were nervous but went on to win that quarter-final in a close race, the semi-final easily and the final by a length to win the competition. W2 then took to the water in the women’s band 2 8’s. They took down St. Cats W2 (picture credit: John Walley), Clare W2 and then Caius to dominate their competition.
M3 had a less successful campaign up against a strong Caius M3. They lost by a length. M2 performed well winning against Fitz M2 after a clash of blades at the start before just losing to Clare M2 in the final. M1 rounded off the day with the most exciting race so far. Up against a strong Clare M1 and with Downing down a few men from the previous days race it would be a close fight. Starting behind due to the bend M1 inched towards the Clare boat to grab victory in the final stroke by an official margin of a bow ball. The final was comparably easy and M1 also won their competition.
Champs VIIIs Regatta – 19th May
M1 – 5th Place
W1 – 10th Place
M2 – 6th fastest M2
W2 – 2nd fastest W2
M3 – 9th fastest M3
W3 – 4th fastest W3
M4 – Fastest M4
These were some really strong results – especially from the 2nd and 3rd boats! A good setting and showing of their training for bumps in a couple weeks! A more in depth look at the results can be found here.
May Bumps – 12th to 15th June
Though not the results we could’ve wished for, M3 must be congratulated for achieving blades – they attained a bump every day! An excellent performance from them, and from all our crews this year. May Bumps was the culmination of a year of very hard work from every member of DCBC.
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 | 6th in First Division | Rowed Over | Bumped Clare M1 | Bumped Pembroke M1 | Rowed Over | 4th in First Division |
| W1 | 4th in First Division | Bumped by Caius W1 | Rowed Over | Bumped by Lady Margaret W1 | Rowed Over | 6th in First Division |
| M2 | 14th in Second Division | Bumped Darwin M1 | Rowed Over | Bumped by Emmanuel M2 | Rowed Over | 14th in Second Division |
| W2 | 14th in Second Division | Bumped Pembroke W2 | Bumped Selwyn W1 | Rowed Over | Bumped by Selwyn W1 | 13th in Second Division |
| M3 | 17th in Fourth Division | Bumped Homerton M2 | Bumped St. Catharine’s M3 | Bumped St. Edmund’s M2 | Bumped Girton M2 | 13th in Fourth Division Blades!! |
| W3 | 9th in Fifth Division | Rowed Over | Bumped Jesus M4 | Bumped Girton M2 | Bumped Fitzwilliam M3 | 6th in Fifth Division |