Fixtures against the Cambridge Blue Boat

On the weekend of the 28th of January, both men’s and women’s First VIII’s travelled down to Ely for some side by side competition with Cambridge University Boat Club as they prepare for the upcoming Boat Race. The opportunity was a great honour for both squads as never before has DUBC been invited down to partake in the Boat Race fixtures, a testament to the athletes’ recent successes at head races and regattas. It was enormously valuable not only in terms of racing experience but also in establishing personal networks between athletes and coaches. As a result, we hope that this marks the beginning of a regular event in the DUBC annual calendar, perhaps even spilling out onto the tideway in future years. 

As for the racing itself, Cambridge unsurprisingly demonstrated their strength and speed immediately. Our men’s First VIII raced the blue boat over two 3km pieces, performing admirably and giving the Cambridge crew a bit of a dogfight down the Ely straight. Likewise, the women’s First VIII came up against a strong coxed four comprised of half of the Goldie boat as the Cambridge women were unavailable due to internal testing. Although victory belonged to the light blues that weekend, our men and women put on a promising display of speed that will be readily built upon into the final head races of the season and into the summer months. 

We are very grateful for the efforts of our coaches, Rob and Will, for organizing this event and being responsible for the transport of equipment. Additionally, we thank CUBC for accommodating our athletes and we wish them all the best for the Boat Race. For our athletes back in Durham, however, it’s back to the grind with GB u23 trials coming up as well as BUCS Head, WeHorr and Horr. It’s a busy time here at DUBC but an exciting one no less.

Alumni Fun After Success at Rutherford Head

This weekend our athletes took on one of the biggest races in the North of England; Rutherford Head. The club came away with some promising results as we approach the conclusion of Michaelmas term and begin our post-season training camp.

The first division saw the men's eights race and the women's fours. The weather was fair but brisk, with glassy water blessing all of the crews racing. The 5km course ran from the A1 bridge back towards the boat clubs and finished at the "man with the blade" about 300 metres past the boat house. All of the crews put in monstrous efforts to come away with strong results. The Men's 1st eight came second overall, closely behind the winners; University of London. The Men's 2nd eight were the 4th fastest 2nd eight, propping up the rear of the band. Similarly, our Men's 3rd eight came sixth in their band, putting out a strong performance for a newly formed crew.

Our Women's fours also did very well in division one. We acquired a win in the women's coxed four; a great achievement for our women's squad. We had a number of women's fours place highly in their band, with our women's lightweight four doing especially well in amongst a majority of heavyweight crews.

In the second division, it was the turn of the women's eights and the men's fours. Our Women's first eight came second in their band, coming in closely behind Edinburgh. A very strong result. The Women's second eight came fifth in their band. We gained a win in the Men's coxed four, who happened to be the 2nd fastest four of the division. We had a number of other strong performances from our men's fours throughout the division, with many placing high in their bands.

We also had a number of alumni racing with our crews, which was great to see. The racing was followed by the annual Rutherford Dinner, where a great time was had by all with some celebratory drinks and food. It's always great to catch up with alumni and relax after a tough day of racing. Thank you to everyone who helped organise and allow Rutherford Head to run smoothly.

Success for DUBC at the Northern Rowing Series

This weekend saw DUBC take part in a series of private fixtures with our neighbours Newcastle, Tyne and also Edinburgh, who made the journey down to partake in some great racing. The fixtures consisted of a 4km Time Trial rate capped at 26spm and two 1k pieces which were done at free rate. DUBC took the time trial by storm, which ran from the A1 bridge, past the infamous Scrapyard corner, up Blaydon Strait to finish at Newburn bridge. Our athletes dominated the race, putting to use all the grim winter miles that have been gained so far.

Our men’s 1st eight won the TT by 19 seconds over Edinburgh’s 1st eight and put a minute into Newcastle’s 1st eight; an impressive result this early in the season. Meanwhile on the women’s side, the 1st eight came second overall in the their TT, placing behind Edinburgh by 4 seconds. However they beat Newcastle by 26 seconds. So far very promising results for our top two eights.

Back to the men’s side, our 2nd eight beat Edinburgh and Newcastle’s 2nd eights, and they placed only 2 seconds behind Newcastle’s 1st eight! They raced very hard in the TT so this result really reflects the hard work that they put in. Similarly the women’s 2nd eight performed exceptionally well. With a number of freshers relatively new to sweeping making up the crew, they placed just behind Edinburgh’s 2nd eight but beat Newcastle by 30 seconds! A very exciting result indeed and a great start to the day for DUBC.

After a short break to let the athletes recover and refuel, it was time to hit the water again for the 1k pieces which started at Newburn Bridge and finished just before the S-bend. The 1st and 2nd eights were matched up with their respective opposition and the racing began. The men’s 1st eight dominated both of their pieces, winning the first piece by a length and the second by a length and a half over Edinburgh, Newcastle and Tyne.

On the women’s side, our 1st eight placed second in both pieces, only narrowly losing to Edinburgh by just a canvas. They raced hard in both pieces, charging all the way to the end, keeping Edinburgh under pressure the whole way.

Our men’s 2nd eight didn’t have it all their own way. After a stellar performance in the TT in the morning, they placed 4th in the 1k pieces behind Newcastle and Edinburgh, despite an impressive sprint to the line both times.

Our women’s 2nd eight smashed the 1k’s, only just losing to Edinburgh but beating Newcastle by clear water on both pieces. Again, an impressive feat for a boat with limited sweep experience.

Overall, it was a great day with extremely positive results for Durham. These fixtures are a great way for everyone to get some coveted race experience in before the important head races during winter so we’d like to thank everyone who organised the event and helped out. It could not have happened without everyone chipping in. We now look forward to Rutherford Head next Saturday, where DUBC will aim to capitalise on these strong results.

DUBC at November GB trials 2022

DUBC travelled down to Boston en force, boasting 18 athletes: 10 women, 6 men and 2 coxes. DUBC turned up to the trials process last year, wide-eyed at the professionalism of some of the athletes - the trials required the athletes to level up. This year DUBC returned with an assurance that they belonged at this grand stage, with results from the previous year and with a solid block of training in small boats under their belts.

The trial began on Saturday, with a 2k ergo test: the athletes had to achieve prescribed cutoffs to proceed further in the process. The DUBC athletes rose to the occasion, delivering 13 PB’s; a special mention must go to Dom Newton and Caroline Rijkse who pulled out two heroic performances, each taking off over 6 seconds off their previous PBs to make the cutoff.

On the next day, a misty November morning provided the stage for a 5 kilometre time trial on the water. Conditions were kind, the glassy water glistening for the small boats to cut through. The first down the track was our men’s pair of Gus John and Andrew Mettrick; despite a low six minute 2k still heavy in their legs from the day before, they produced a classy row, finishing as the 5th u23 pair. The men’s singles were next, where Levin Gräf displayed his European sculling prowess, as the fastest DUBC sculler of the day, taking a 14th place overall finish back up North with him. The other men’s singles, George Reed, Dominic Newton and Peter Goodfellow, all put out gutsy performances - they demonstrated the competitiveness of the Durham programme, as they finished within a couple seconds of each other.

The men set the tone for what would be a successful day for DUBC. Fresher Anna Grace demonstrated her pedigree, as the quickest DUBC woman of the day, and managing a 5th u23 placing to go with it. The performance of the day would wait however for 2nd year Izzy Sellers, attacking the 5 kilometre course ferociously to take the crown, as the fastest u23 lightweight. Fresher Mia Vickerman followed closely in her footsteps, moving her single very effectively to finish 4th in the u23 lightweight category. Caroline Rijkse formed the third and final piece to DUBC’s lightweight women group - Caroline placed as the 8th u23. The other DUBC women raced the scull fearlessly, anticipating the February trial, where they will be able to manifest their better practised sweeping skills in pairs.

It was inspiring to DUBC athletes present at the trial and those who remained at base camp on the Tyne to witness recent DUBC alumni performing at such a high level. Matt Rossiter stroked his pair to the fastest time of the day. He was chased hard by Ryan Todhunter, who flew down the track to finish as the 4th quickest pair. Last year’s women’s captain, Natasha Morrice, now rowing under the Leander colours stamped her mark on the field placing 13th overall on the 2k test followed by a strong performance in the single on the Sunday with her eyes now set on returning to sweep rowing where she earned a silver medal in W8+ at the U23WRC’s this summer.

The focus for the whole squad now turns to Rutherford Head on our home waters in 4 weeks time.

Photo from https://www.allmarkstore.co.uk

Welcoming 4 new Filippi boats to our growing fleet

Set at DUBC’s Robert Gillespie boathouse at the Maiden Castle Sports Centre in Durham, a group of current athletes, alumni and friends of the boatclub gathered in the sunshine this past Saturday, to mark the addition, and naming, of four new Filippi boats into the Durham fleet. Named after DUBC’s first three Olympians - Sam Hobbs ’52, Diana Bishop ’76 and Tom Bishop ’76 - and a distinguished recent alum, Jock Wishart, the new boats bring the top end of our fleet to parity with the best clubs and universities in the country.

We were lucky enough to have both Diana and Tom with us at the ceremony to christen their respective boats. They shared anecdotes with the squad about their time both at DUBC and on the GB team, giving insightful stories about their journey, trials and eventual successes on their way to the top of the sport. Diana’s journey from the DUBC development squad into the first women’s 8+ at Durham and further - onto winning the first ever Women’s Sculler’s Head of the River Race and coming 1st at GB Championships in both the W1x and the W4x - is a history that DUBC is incredibly proud of. The alumni present reminded us of our past successes and of the hard work required to achieve more in the future. It’s a good time to be at Durham.

Sincerely,

Ollie Gordon-Brown

President of DUBC ’22-’23

#BleedPalatinate

George Bourne wins Silver at the World Championships!

This past Sunday alumni George Bourne raced for Great Britain at the World Championships in Racice, Croatia, in the M4x. After qualifying 1st from their heat and second in a tightly contested semifinal, they pushed back on powerful competition from both Italy and the Netherlands to claim a close silver medal, losing out by only 1/3 length to a powerful Polish crew. George graduated from Durham in 2020, and marked his first senior appearance for the GB Team with a medal - it’s a huge achievement, and one that the whole squad is incredibly proud of. We’ll be waiting and watching this space for more great things to come.

Sincerely,

Ollie Gordon-Brown

President of DUBC ’22-’23

#BleedPalatinate