MT 2024 summary
Michaelmas Term 2024 was an interesting one, starting on the same tricky note as it ended: with river closures. This put a slight damper on our usual rhythm, but we adapted, welcoming the new crop of curious freshers to the boathouse if not the river with drinks and a barbecue and inducting them on the ergs that they would come to know and cherish over the next eight weeks.
Although Michaelmas rowing focuses somewhat on novices, our seniors didn’t let the grass grow under their feet, putting down some hours in indoor training that should stand them in good stead in the bumps races of the new year. When river conditions eventually smiled upon us, we started to rack up some good water time at Godstow and on the Isis.
We had a fair bit of excitement in 4th week. Our highly anticipated new skinny blades arrived, a set for both the men’s and the women’s sides. NCBC is very grateful to our kind alumni for their generosity, which we intend to repay in the form of blades. That weekend, our men entered a 4+ to the Autumn Fours head-to-head races and performed admirably, cruising easily past a Brasenose crew and beating Trinity’s entry by a length before sadly losing the semi-final to Exeter by half a length.
To our disappointment, the typical climax of the term, the Tamesis novice regatta, an event which typically brings excitement and camaraderie to seniors as well as novices, had to be cancelled due to flooding. A run of poor weather, which very unfortunately coincided with the regatta, caused the Thames to flood to levels not seen in decades, making racing (and indeed access to much of Christ Church meadow) impossible.
While they couldn’t race, our novices have come a very long way in a short time through their consistent effort at all their water sessions, ergs and tank sessions. To celebrate their effort and achievement, we held a whole club erg relay and then our usual Michaelmas afterparty in the Long Room. It’ll be exciting to see which seniors they can push out of their seats for Torpids!