Hertford College Boat Club - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hertford College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to HCBC ) is a rowing

Sport rowing

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

club for members of Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...

. It is based in the Longbridges boathouse

Boathouse

A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...

on the Isis, which is owned by the college and shared with St Hilda's

St Hilda's College, Oxford

St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....

, St Catz

St Catherine's College, Oxford

St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...

, Green Templeton

Green Templeton College, Oxford

Green Templeton College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on 1 October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College...

and Mansfield

Mansfield College, Oxford

Mansfield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Of the colleges that accept both undergraduate and graduate students Mansfield College is one of the smallest, comprising approximately 210 undergraduates, 130 graduates, 35 visiting students and 50...

. Until recently the club was affiliated with Templeton college, but in 2008 Templeton and Green colleges merged to form a new, Green Templeton College with its own boat club.

The Early Days of the Boat Club

The years after the re-foundation of the College were among the golden years of the college boat club. The following extract is taken from the Introduction written by E. Buckin in the second Secretary's book and details the early history of the club.

Having to begin a new Secretary's Book, at a time when we have reached the highest possible point of success I have thought it best to begin from the foundation of the Club - rewriting the facts from the Old Book - and giving a short history of the College Boat Club.

'Hertford College was in 1874 re-founded as the new embodiment of Magdalen Hall, which was absorbed by it - (all its members being incorporated, and its buildings occupied by Hertford College). The 'Blue-Black' of the Hall had, as far as O.U.B.C. races are concerned, disappeared from the river in 1873 when their Eight was bumped over two places by Worcester College. The new Boat Club was really properly started in October 1875, when the first Captain (A. F. Thornhill) was elected - and the new colours (crimson and white) of the College made their appearance on the River in the following term when the first Torpid was put on. The debut gave some promise but was not very successful as having to change a man in the middle of the races the boat lost the two places it had gained - and here one may remark that one is at loss to account for the want of success which has always attended our Torpids, only one of them ever having risen, while the Eight has gone steadily from 20th to Head of the River in 1881. In this last Eight there were first hands recruited from the Torpid. The first Eight made its appearance in May 1876, and rose four places. After this we have only to chronicle success. The Eight starting nineteenth in 1878, rose in that year six places to thirteenth - in 1879 five places to eighth - in 1880 three places to fifth - and in 1881 with five new hands when everything looked worst we rose the remaining four places 'Head of the River'...

'Through the energy of the Principal (Dr. Boyd) the College in November, 1878, became possessors of a Barge, which no doubt has been very conductive to our success. As to financial matters one cannot speak with so much pleasure and satisfaction for up till quite a recent date the College has not really been large enough to support its success which has entailed a somewhat heavy expenditure. But as the College has grown considerably and as efforts have been and are being made to clear off the debt that remains, it is hoped that we shall soon be able to speak of the Club as a financial success.

'What has been done in the past is certainly due in a great measure to the hearty and practical interest which has been taken in the welfare of the College and its Boat Club. We shall hope to see this interest and enthusiasm increase with the success it has created, and if it does we are satisfied that the College will maintain a high position in the University.'

One consequence of being Head of the River in 1881 was that Hertford burnt its boats. The following letter was sent to T. G. Jackson, of whom more anon, whilst he was engaged on the restoration of the Bodleian Library. It was sent by Mr Madden, sub-librarian:

Bodleian Library

26 May 1881

Dear Mr Jackson,

Last night at about 10:45 I saw out of my window a blaze of light near the Bodleian, which at once reminded me of Hertford being head of the river and of concomitant festivities, so I went and saw that not only were rockets, bombs, and every form of firework being let off in all directions (chiefly upward) in the front quad of Hertford, but also a huge bonfire was blazing just within the great gates of the College, fed with tables and chairs by a mad set of undergraduates who were chiefly occupied in dancing insanely round it. The sparks were flying straight up to about the level of the Schools tower, which, as you know is swathed in wood-work and tarpaulins. Had there been any touch of east wind there would certainly have been showers of sparks all over the tower...
No notice had been given to any of us of the obvious danger if the wind had blown towards the library and the Senior Proctor (one of the curators) had, I am told, specially sanctioned the fires... We stayed on the scaffolding until 2a.m. when the men seemed to have gone to bed but it is so striking an instance of danger in a quiet summer town that you will pardon my telling you of it...

Very truly yours

J. MADDEN

Recent Years

1997 saw the opening of new Longbridges boathouse, which replaced the older boathouse on the same site.

The club room is the ideal place to get a sense of the history of the club: adorning the walls are the names of former club captains and presidents, former blues (those who have represented Oxford against Cambridge in The Boat Race

The Boat Race

The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...

, or the Henley Boat Races, and 'champions', the most notable of whom is Paul Mattick, currently the reigning world champion as part of the GB Lightweight

Lightweight rowing

Lightweight rowing is a special category of rowing where limits are placed on the maximum weight of competitors. The rationale is that larger, taller people have a small but significant physical advantage and tend to dominate the sport...

Men's 4- crew that won gold in an extremely tight race at the 2010 World Rowing Championships

World Rowing Championships

The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...

in New Zealand. He was previously a world champion in the same boat class in 2007, and finished 5th in the Olympic final in Beijing. Paul began rowing at Hertford and maintains strong ties to the boat club, continuing to have an input in coaching despite his heavy training load!

Also on the site is the best equipped erg

Indoor rower

An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Indoor rowing has become established as a sport in its own right...

room of any Oxford college boat club, changing facilities and a shower, a kitchen/bar and the boat bays.

The years since the construction of the boat house have been highly successful with both the men's and women's sides achieving numerous sets of blades (bumping up on every day of Torpids

Torpids

Torpids is one of two series of bumping races held yearly at Oxford University, the other being Eights. Over 130 men's and women's crews race for their colleges in six men's divisions and five women's; almost 1200 participants in total...

or Summer Eights); the most recent set was won by the men's first eight in Torpids 2010.

The Fire

On Monday July 4 2005 the Longbridges Boathouse that accommodates Hertford and several other college boat clubs was damaged by fire. In an incident that the police identified as arson, the building was undamaged, but twenty-six boats were destroyed by the heat of the fire. The boat storage area as well as two clubrooms suffered severe smoke damage.

Upon investigation the cause of the fire was attributed to incendiary devices which had been placed in the boat bays. Responsibility for the fire was claimed by members of the Oxford Arson Squad

Oxford Arson Squad

Oxford Arson Squad is a militant organization, which emerged in the United Kingdom in 2005 after claiming the firebombing of the Corpus Christi College Sports Pavilion at Oxford University...

via the ALF

Animal Liberation Front

The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...

's group website. The fire wiped out the entire fleet of eights, including the newly acquired Women's Filippi; however, the small boats, stored in a different bay, were undamaged. Happily, insurance cover allowed the club to replace all the destroyed boats with ones of equal or greater quality.

Fleet

The boat club is one of the best equipped on the Isis, thanks in no small part to insurance money following the fire, and aims to buy a new eight every three years.

Men's Boats

- Empacher K86 8+ (2009)
- Janousek 8+ (2005)
- Aylings 8+
- Filippi F19 4+ (2010)
- Janousek 4+

Women's Boats

- KIRS 17.2 8+ (2011)
- Janousek 8+ (2005)
- Janousek 8+
- Stelph 4+/x (2005)

Erg Room

The club has access to the impressive Longbridge's boat house erg room containing 8 Concept 2

Concept2

Concept2 is a manufacturer of rowing equipment based in Vermont, USA. It is best known for its air resistance indoor rowing machines , which are considered the standard training and testing machines for competition rowers and can be found in most gyms...

Model D ergs (and sliders) and 4 refurbished Concept 2 Model C ergs, with large mirrors lining one wall so that you can see and improve your technique. In addition, the club also owns four Concept 2 Model C ergs and a Rowperfect

RowPerfect

A Rowperfect is an indoor rowing machine designed in 1987; patented in 1988, by Dutchman Cas Rekers. It is designed to accurately simulate the feeling of rowing on the water. Both the flywheel and the seat are free to move on a slide — this is different from the majority of rowing machines...

machine which are located in the club room.

Club Room

Above the boat bays is a large club room, a great place to chat about outings, do circuit sessions, relax in between races or hold after event parties whilst looking out over the Isis! Adjoining this space are changing facilities for men and women, a warm shower and a kitchen/bar for Pimms and beer after a warm summer's day race!
Hertford also owns a Rowperfect machine, which analyses a rowers stroke and compares it to those of World Champions, or someone else in your crew!

Hertford Rowing Bursary

The Hertford College Boat Club rowing bursaries are awards of up to £1000 a year for the students of the college who do the most to promote Hertford rowing. They are open to male and female, graduate and undergraduate students. To find out more, take a look at the HCBC Website.

Society

Hertford has a strong rowing history, and this is reflected by the active role that the boat club society plays in the running of the club. Open to anyone with an interest or connection with Hertford rowing, the society is a growing organisation. The highlight of the year is the AGM: held in the club house it provides a great opportunity for past members to reunite with old friends and meet current rowers to discover just how much things haven't changed! This is followed by the annual Society boat race, pitting past rowers against the current 1st VIII's, and then a formal dinner in Hall. Society members also receive the "Blades" magazine. This is published several times a year and keeps society members up to date with the recent fortunes of the club. To find out more, take a look at the HCBC Website.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.