Stemming from last year’s success at Summer Eights, Wolfson College Boat Club sought to strive with determination to maintain the momentum by engaging in several regattas over the summer.

This year’s Boat Club campaign kicked off with a good start as we entered two crews (a Pair and a IV) at the Maidenhead Regatta. The pair won, while the IV made it to the finals after 2 impressive races.

In the Oxford City Royal Regatta, we entered a men’s IV into the IM3 category, which after beating crews such as Reading, Curlew, and Cambridge City, won Pots. The women’s VIII emerged victorious in the novice category, winning both the 500m and 1000m events.

Autumn Fours showcased Wolfson’s growing strength and achievement. Our Boat Club fielded two men’s and women’s crews. By the end of the day, all competitors had been vanquished and it was down to Wolfson versus Wolfson. Ultimately, Wolfson men’s and women’s 1^st and IVs won.

In October, the Boat Club launched a novel membership and recruitment drive starting off with the hosting of a BBQ to welcome the incoming student population and to promote and increase awareness of rowing as a sport. The Club wishes to extend its appreciation to Dr. Christina Redfield and the SCC for their support.

With the increase in the membership, the Club was able to field 2 mens and womens crews for the first main event of the academic year namely the Christchurch Regatta for novices. To prepare them for the Regatta, the novices had to initially compete in the Nephthys Regatta. The men’s first novice boat won their first race and the men’s second novice boat put in a good effort. Some of the women from the senior squad could not wait to return to racing and subsequently entered a IV, winning in their category.

Poor weather conditions during the Christchurch Regatta resulted in the race being truncated to a 2-day event. The women’s A boat scored their first victory rather convincingly against St. Anne’s. The men’s A and B boats had trained very hard and gave St. John’s and St. Antony’s a run for their money. Ultimately, both men’s crews came in 2^nd place but only just narrowly. The women’s B boat unfortunately did not get to compete as racing progressively experienced delays. This, however, did not deter our crews as they re-entered training mode in spite of the holiday season and the cold climatic conditions.

Considering the unfavorable frigid temperatures, Wolfson managed to enter two head races in Oxford which were the IWL D and E.  In IWL D, the men’s 1^st VIII took the fastest time at 4 minutes 39 seconds which was possibly the fastest time ever in Wolfson history. The women’s 1^st VIII took a respectable 10^th place. In IWL E, the men’s 1^st VIII shattered their earlier record and once again took 1^st place with an even quicker time of 4 minutes 25 seconds. The men’s second VIII decided to give this event a trial. They were quite possibly one of the best 2^nd VIIIs in the event and were able to achieve their goal of completing the course in less than 5 minutes.

It was then time for Torpids. The women’s 3^rd boat first had to qualify and they did it with the 2^nd fastest time of the day. Unfortunately poor weather conditions again played havoc and only M1, W1, and W2 were allowed to race for the most part of the entire event. The M1 quickly bumped both Queen’s and Brasenose on the first day.  On the second day, W2 also bumped twice and excelled to the next level by climbing into division 3. M1 and W2 surged on victoriously and won BLADES. M2 and W3 were eventually allowed to race and made quick mince-meat out of Trinity and St. Hugh’s respectively. 

In between Torpids and Summer Eights, the M1 continued its tradition of entering the Head of the River Regatta. They came in 213^th place beating numerous international university teams as well as the Royal Air Force.

On April 3^rd, it was time for the 156^th Boat Race. Coxed and stroked by Wolfson’s own Adam Barhamand and Charlie Burkitt respectively, the Oxford boat was undoubtedly the crowd favorite. Oxford rowed well and had the cleaner and faster start compared to Cambridge. Alas, it was not to be, as it was Cambridge’s turn this year to win the coveted race.

Once again, the BoatClub made its way to Henley, the birthplace of rowing, for its annual training camp. There was great enthusiasm, which was evidenced by the 40 strong participants. The Club had two terrific days of good weather and rowing. Apart from sunburns, the coaches also noticed a general but significant improvement in rowing technique from all.

The Boat Club, for the first time in ages, fielded 6 crews in total at this year’s Summer Eights, which is testament to our successful recruitment campaign throughout the year. The women’s crews each bumped once and were bumped once. They retain their overall positions after four days of rowing furiously over the entire length of the course. On the men’s side, all three crews were not bumped, however M1 and M2 both bumped four times and are thus eligible for BLADES. The M1 is now 8^th place in the top division in front of Magdalen (they had headship for several consecutive years in the past) New, and St. Edmund’s Hall. The M2 are in second place in Division 5 and have set themselves in a prime position to climb into the next division next year. The M3 quickly and easily bumped their opponents on the last three days of the event. Because of these outstanding performances and results, it was officially announced that Wolfson is now home of the Number 1 men’s crews of the event.

This year we bid farewell to “Dawntreader”, the racing VIII used by the women’s 2^nd and 3^rd crews. At the same time, we are delighted to welcome the addition of two new boats to our fleet. The first one replaces the women’s flagship boat and duly named after Linda Taft in recognition for her tremendous support and help towards the Boat Club over the years. The second boat complements the men’s fleet and is a significant upgrade, sporting a more race-type configuration with a high tech design. Officially named “Weapon X”, to commemorate the 10^th year of this millennium, it will serve to represent Wolfson College in upcoming high-profile regattas around the United Kingdom such as the Henley Royal Regatta and the Fours Head.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation and thanks to all the committee members, the crews, the College, and our sponsors, Oxford Ancestors, for their assistance and support during my term as President. This has been a truly special year for the Boat Club and I must say that I have come to know many of you better and I shall treasure the fond memories which we have had at Wolfson and the Boat Club for years to come.

I wish the Boat Club continued success in promoting the sport of rowing as well as in its pursuit towards another advancement in the division rankings.

The naming ceremony of ‘Weapon X’, the men’s new IV. Pictured here with Men’s co-Captain RJ Ruitinga, BoatClub President Clarence ‘The Annihilator’ Yapp, and Wolfson College President Hermione Lee. Photo courtesy of Darren Morofke

The W2 on their way to winning blades in Torpids, from left to right: Nicole Yager, Amanda Reiner, Veronika Nikitina, Alison Jameson, Lisa Mol, Annette Fayet, Rachel King, Aurelie Cuenod, and Jill Betts. Photo courtesy of Darren Morofke