Novice Report 2021
From the very start of Michaelmas all eyes were on the novice crews after one of our most successful recruitment drives ever. Giving in to Harry’s charm, over 100 freshers signed up for a taster session and by the end of first week we had lined up eight novice crews: four women’s crews and four men’s crews, including the debut of the men’s Magenta Boat (novice M2) and women’s Wykeham boat (novice W3). After getting everyone swim tested – which is surprisingly difficult when all 60 novices seem to ALWAYS be at formal dinner – and finally training got under way. The first test of our new crews would be the New College Indoor Regatta on Wednesday 10th November. Competing on the ergs in teams of four to race to 2K, the three men’s crews and two women’s crews we entered had great success, particularly women’s purple boat who came in 1st place.
Our second challenge came in on Saturday of 6th Week as we entered Nepthys Regatta. We produced two women’s and two men’s VIII’s for who could not be more excited for their first taste of river racing. All our crews were excellent, with Women’s gold winning their first race and only narrowly being beaten by New College’s own purple boat! Men’s Purple Boat easily beat Green Templeton B in the first round. Unfortunately, Men’s Magenta Boat were knocked out by Corpus Christi A after an excellent start tragically followed by a boat stopping double crab 200m later! In the quarter final Men’s Purple raced Magdalen B and won (GDBM!). Beating Somerville for the place at the final, they ended the day with an incredible second place!
Just four days later was the first day of Christ Church Regatta. We entered three boats for the men and two for the women. After an incredible afternoon of races the men’s side had won all five of their first round races! In the second round Men’s Gold knocked out Balliol B while but were sadly beaten by LMH B. Men’s Purple and Men’s Magenta defeated the first crews from St Anne’s and Keble respectively but were unluckily pitted against each other in the next round where, in a surprising twist, Magenta won! The men’s side ended the day with a tight lost to Regent’s Park A. Overall, we have been incredibly proud of what the novices have achieved and we have high hopes for Torpids and Summer Eights as they are integrated into our senior crews!
On the women’s side, we had some stellar performances too! Women’s gold gained huge victories over Hertford A and Mansfield A and, with the addition of a bye, made it into the 4th round. Here, however, they lost to a very strong Worcester A crew. In the meantime, Purple Boat claimed victory over Green Templeton, Exeter B, Jesus A and Lincoln A, getting them in the Quarter Finals. As anticipation was building, they overcame St Antony’s A in the Semi’s to reach the finals. It was safe to say our boathouse, full of supporters, was becoming increasingly tense – but we were worried for nothing. With great pleasure, we can announce that our Women’s Purple Boat are the 2021 Christ Church Regatta Champions, beating the 46 crews entered for the first time since 2010.
In short, we had one of our most successful terms with titles in 2 of the 3 events we entered. This could not have been achieved without the help of all the coaches and coxes involved, as well as the dedication of the rowers themselves. They overcame many challenges, and many early mornings, to get here. We are incredibly proud Lower Boat’s Captains, and cannot wait to see what they all go on to achieve in the future as senior rowers for the club!
Katie Brooker, James Goddard, Kieran Twaites, Matt Lewis
Lower Boat Captains, 2021-2022
