New College Boat Club

College Boat Clubs of the University of Oxford
New College Boat Club

New College Boathouse (right half) and rowing blade
                  
Established 1840 (1840)[1]
Head of the River – Men 1887, 1896-99, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1911-13, 1921, 1922, 1937, 1950, 1986
Head of the River – Women 2004, 2005
Location Boathouse Island, River Thames (known in Oxford as the Isis) 51°44′34″N 1°14′57″W / 51.74290°N 1.24910°W / 51.74290; -1.24910
President Izzy Gordan
Men's Captain Nicholas Evans [2]
Women's Captain Brianna Doherty[2]
New College Boat Club Website

New College Boat Club (NCBC) is rowing club for the members of New College, Oxford. The clubs existence can be dated to 1840 when it first raced on The Isis in Oxford.[1] It is one of the most successful college rowing clubs with 16 men's headships and two women's.

The club shares a boathouse on The Isis (part of the Thames) with Balliol College Boat Club, as well as using boat racks at Godstow for the Men's and Women's first boats.

History

A New College IV in rowing blazers in 1860

The first record of a New College eight is in 1840, with another appearance in 1852. Only from 1868 did the college start to fully represent itself on the river. In these early years New achieved 'Head of the River' in the Eights in 1887, 1896-1899, 1901, 1903-04 (inclusive). In Torpids the club was 'Head of the River' in 1882, 1896, 1900-04.[1]

The 1912 Stockholm Olympics

New College Boat Club, representing Great Britain, winning the Silver medal at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics

The New College Boat Club represented Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm and won the Silver medal in the Men's eights.

The two British crews were the favourites for gold so started at opposite ends of the draw. They both worked up through the competition to make the final. The course in Stockholm was not straight, and one of the two lanes was clearly favoured, the other requiring the cox to steer around a protruding boathouse and then back under a bridge.

Before the final, the two British captains met to toss for lanes. New College won the toss and following gentlemanly tradition offered the choice of lanes to their opponents, who would - in a gentlemanly fashion - refuse this offer. However the Leander/Magdalen College captain accepted this offer and chose the better lane. Leander went on to win the gold medal, leaving New College with the silver.

King Gustav V of Sweden was so disheartened by this display of ungentlemanly conduct that, as a consolation, he presented his colours to New College. Ever since then, New College have raced in purple and gold, the colours of the royal house of Sweden. A further tradition has been the adoption of the toast: 'God Damn Bloody Magdalen!', the supposed words of the New College stroke Robert Bourne as they crossed the line. The abbreviation GDBM has been used commonly ever since, and is still on bottom of the NCBC letterhead.

Henley Royal Regatta

The club has won four events at Henley Royal Regatta in its history.

Event Win 2nd
Grand Challenge Cup 1897 1889, 1895, 1904
Ladies' Challenge Plate 1900, 1950 1908
Stewards' Challenge Cup 1912, 1913 1894, 1897, 1898
Visitors' Challenge Cup 1894, 1898 1899, 1939, 1946, 1948

Recent form

Torpids

NCBC MI with broken bow blade and broken rudder on last day of Torpids 2008 resulting in a drop of six places

Eights

In 2012, the Men's 1st VIII started 14th (1st Div 2) and finished 17th, the 2nd VIII started 30th (5th Div 3) and finished 31st. The Women's 1st VIII started 12th and finished 15th, the 2nd VIII started 57th (6th Div 4) and finished 51st.[3]

Blues

A number of members of New College have gone on to row for the University.[1]

Year Oxford University Boat Club
1853-55 W.F. Short
1856 G. Bennett
1877-79 F.M. Beaumont (cox)
1882-83 G.C. Bourne
1884-87 Douglas McLean(President '84-85)
1885-57 Hector McLean (President '87)
1888 S.R. Fothergill, A. Steward (cox)
1889 F.C. Drake
1889-91 Lord Ampthill (President 1890)
1889-92 J.P. Heywood-Londsdale (cox)
1890 C.H. Hornby
1892-95 C.M. Pitman (President 1894-95)
1893-94 J.A. Morrison
1894-97 W.E. Crum (President 1895-96)
1894-85 T.H.E. Stretch
1895-98 C.K. Philips (President '97)
1895 C.P. Serocold (cox)
1896-1897 J.J.J. de Knoop
1897-98 G.O.C. Edwards
1898-99 R.O. Pitman
1899-1900 C.E. Johnston
1900-01 R. Culme-Seymour
1901 A. de L. Long, James Younger

1951 Stokes, L.A.F., Hawkes, M.J., Turner, C.G., Hayes,J. 1952 Stokes, L.A.F. 1953 Byatt, R.A.

1967-68 D. Topolski
1981 R.P. Yonge
1982 R.C. Clay, R.P. Yonge
1983 G.R.D. Jones, R.P. Yonge
1984 R.C. Clay, G.R.D Jones
1988 S. Joshua Lewis

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rashdall, Hastings & Rait, Robert S. (1901). New College. London: F. E. Robinson.
  2. 1 2 "Oxford University Rowing Clubs". Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Eights 2012". Oxford Bumps Charts. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
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