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The Boat Club is one of the most well travelled societies at the University. We have raced and trained all over Britain and even Europe. In order to maintain our pedigree, we must continue to pit ourselves against the best in the country. This usually involves travelling south to the likes of Nottingham or London. A full calendar of local and some major events is usually available on the SARA website; it is normally published after their AGM in November. It is important that GUBC members take note of competition dates as it is a great shame to put so much effort into training and then be unable to race. Below is a description of some of the bigger events that we will almost definitely attend.
Tideway (The Head of the River Race) ‘Tideway’ is the stretch of the River Thames that is tidal. This race is a time trial from Chiswick to Putney in central London. The course is the same as that raced by Oxford and Cambridge in ‘The Boat Race’ except it is in the reverse direction. There are separate events for men and women on different days and all racing is in eights. Over 400 crews take part in each race. The standard varies from the GB Olympic Eight, to University 4th or 5th VIIIs. GUBC usually take two or three eights from each squad down to this event. We normally stay two or three nights either on a boathouse or church floor after travelling by minibus. This generally keeps costs down. The event is usually followed by a memorable night out in Putney.
Strathclyde Park Regatta (SPR) and Scottish Universities Regatta Date; TBC, probably 24th & 25th April 2009 This is usually our first ‘regatta’ of the season. A regatta involves ‘side by side’ racing on a multi-laned course. This takes place at Strathclyde Park on the outskirts of Motherwell. This event is in fact two regattas in one as the Scottish Universities Championships run alongside the main open regatta.
British Universities and Colleges Sport Regatta (BUCS) 2nd/3rd/4th May 2009 This is an excellent event and for Novices it would be the biggest race of the season. It is effectively the student rowing championships of Great Britain. BUCS usually takes place in Nottingham over the bank holiday weekend. Some students find that this regatta can clash with exam revision, so it is important to plan work well in advance. For the senior crews, the regatta offers qualification opportunities to compete for GB Universities at the European Universities in August. Usually the top two, three or four crews qualify.
Henley Royal Regatta 1st – 5th July 2009 Henley is a town on the River Thames about 30 miles west of London. The regatta held there is probably the most famous in the world. Just qualifying for this one is an achievement. The format is one on one, side by side, knockout racing. The finals are always on Sunday, Semis on Saturday etc. working back to day one on Wednesday. Racing sees everything from top international crews to local club and school crews spread over the different events. There are two student events, The ‘Prince Albert Cup’, for coxed fours and The ‘Temple Challenge Cup’ for eights. Henley is also well known as a social occasion and usually a bus of willing GUBC supporters heads down for the craic.
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Glasgow University Boat Club, The Stevenson Building, 77 Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8LT |