Newcastle University Boat Club
Encyclopedia
Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) is the rowing
club of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat club for Armstrong College, it celebrated its centenary in 2011.
from a purpose-built boathouse on the south bank of the river in the village of Newburn
, five miles upriver from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne
. Built in the 1950s, the boathouse is home to the clubs boats, private single sculls and coaching launches; was redeveloped with work finished in 2011. Rowers have access to 35 km (21.7 mi) of tidal water, extending from the picturesque parkland around Wylam
, through the former industrial heartland of the city to Tynemouth
. Whilst most training places place along the Wylam, Newburn and Blaydon
stretches of river, extended paddles offers crews the opportunity to row under the famous Tyne Bridge
on Newcastle's quayside.
Land training takes place at two sites within the city itself. The club has its own gymnasium at the Henderson Halls of Residence, with Concept2
rowing ergometers, RowPerfect
and Concept2 Dyno machines and a fully stocked free weights suite. The club also has use of the University's main sports centre, next to the Richardson Road Halls of Residence with access to further rowing machines, weights facilities, fitness suite and sports halls for circuit training. Through the University's performance sports programme, elite rowers get access to free physiotherapy, sports massage, nutritional expertise and strength and conditioning coaching.
in 2008, and placing 16th at the Head of the River Race
. The club has is a consistently strong performer at the British University and Colleges Sport Regatta, placing third overall in 2010. The club also employs a part-time assistant coach and relies on a strong network of experienced volunteer coaches.
The club also employs a boatman, Bradley Jewell who carries out minor and major repairs and upgrades on the club's equipment, and provides technical support travelling to major regattas with the club.
and the boat club - established in Mach 1911 - held the same status as other Durham colleges and competed in intercollegiate events. One of the first races was against the varsity third crew, who they beat and whose place they subsequently took at Durham Regatta
. In 1924, a women's club was established and in 1929, the growing success of the club prompted to construction of a new boathouse on the River Tyne at Stella Haugh, the site of the Battle of Newburn
.
The early thirties also brought successes for the A.C.W.B.C. when in 1932 they won two clinker races against Durham and Bristol and one cutter race against Bristol. However, the late 1940s and early 1950s really saw the women's side of the boat club take off, now as K.C.W.B.C. (King's College Women's Boat Club). In 1948 the KCWBC 'swept the river' at Durham when both the novice and 'B' crew beat Durham. The 'B' crew 'did not display the raggedness of some former women's crews when tired' and 'it was heard on the bank that they gave the best exhibition of women's rowing ever seen on the Wear'.
The Tideway Head of the River was first held in 1926 but the first mention of a Durham VIII that included KCBC oarsmen was in 1949. At that point there were three categories: First, Sandwich and Clinker. First was the fastest twenty-five boats from the previous year, Sandwich was the remainder of shell VIIIs and any new entrants and clinker was the remainder of clinker VIIIs plus any new entrants. The Durham University crew started 90th finishing 41st in a time of 20 minutes and 57seconds, the winners being London RC.
The women's club was often hampered by prospective novice's view of female rowers. The boat club countered this by stating that 'women's rowing is not full of brawny Amazonian types who develop terrific shoulder muscles' but includes varied physical types from a wide variety of departments'.
In 1951 the land on which the boat house stood at Stella was requisitioned by the British Electricity Authority
for the Stella South Power Station. The club had to move in with Tyne where they were able to store only four boats whilst a new boat house was designed by Mr. Fielden and Mr Wharfe of the University's School of Architecture and subsequently built. It finally opened in 1953 and was this time described as the 'finest boat house in the North of England'. In 1963 the campaign to attract freshers was boosted by the fact that there were baths at the boat house and in 1968 the renovations continued with the conversion of the hot water boiler from coke to oil-fired, a fact keenly mentioned in the King's Courier.
1957 saw the introduction of circuit training and 1959 brought with it the first training launch. Previously coaches had stood at three points along the river between Newburn and Scotswood
from where they could see crews row past.
In the summer of 1961 a selected men's VIII went to Norway to the Norske Studenters Roklub where they entered international and local races. The boat house stood on an island in between two 2k regatta courses and was only accessible via boat and was an entirely men only island.
In 1963 three King's oarsmen rowed in the Varsity crew that won the Tideway UAU trophy, coming sixteenth overall and in 1969 the club had three crews in the top 170 despite the first VIII having fallen to 130th the previous year. A year on and the top VIII had swept their way back up to 42nd out of 337 crews whilst the second and third VIIIs came 109th and 177th, clocking up times of 19.41, 20.18 and 20.47 respectively, the first VIII coming 3rd in the UAU Ortner Shield behind Durham and Southampton
. Also entered in this year was a 'Gentlemen's VIII', who having not trained since last years HORR fell from 205th to 279th in a time of '3 days, 5 hours, 7 minutes and 6.33 secs' but were undoubtedly going to look 'the most immaculate crew when the Tideway photographs appear'.
The top IV of 1969 due to a mix up in entries for Henley were entered into the British Universities Sporting Federation at Pangbourne
where they had to borrow a boat, 'the only compliment which might be paid to this driftwood was that it floated after a fashion' despite this and a 'hair-raising trip on the London Underground
with the oars' the crew went on to win beating Cambridge, Bradford and London in the final.
Rivalry between the club and Durham is also a strong theme throughout the club's history, especially when the club moved up to competing at a university rather than a college level. In 1971 the first VIII came 32nd at Reading Head, only 4 seconds behind the 'invincible' Durham which apparently led them the make seven changes before HORR. Unfortunately these changes seem to have made the difference. Despite breaking an oar in a clash, the first VIII came 26th out of 337 crews, the best result for 8 years, however this placed them second in the UAU shield just behind Durham.
By 1982 NUBC had won the men's Championship VIIIs at the Northern Universities Regatta for eight consecutive years. Helped by these victories and the size of the club, 64 and 80 athletes respectively, the club won the Victor Ludornum in both 1981 and 1982 and then again in 1985.
In 1986 the ugly issue of apartheid muddied the usually tranquil waters of the prestigious Boating Club' when '400 (a contribution towards the '3,800 needed per year to run the club at the time) was accepted from Barclays Bank, who's offer of money to the union had been rejected due to their involvement in South Africa. Despite this, or perhaps due to this, victories were achieved at York Small Boats Head by the 1st IV and elite pair and Tyne Head in Senior III VIIIs. The former was also a successful Head for the club in 1988 when won Senior I and II sculls (James Valerino), Open and Senior I pairs (Simon Mepham and Nick Scott), Open IVs and Professor Jones won Veteran Open double sculls for York City. To balance these successes the Senior III IV was beaten by the Novice 1st IV.
-born author Catherine Cookson
provided for a new men's eight, Tom named after her husband, and a new women's coxed four, named Dixie, which subsequently went on to win College Coxed Fours at Henley Women's Regatta in 1995.
Summer training was taken to a new level in 1993 when eleven guys from NUBC ran from John O'Groats to Lands End to raise money for charity. The group which consisted of Rob Whiticker, Charlie Pryor, Hugo Elliott, Dan Innes, Dan Robb, Rob Latham, Dick Alhadeff, Tim Wadie, Ben Jukes, Jan Safranek and Hadley Dean (the van driver), completed 840 miles in just 9 days. No wonder they went on to win Open coxless IVs (the fastest crew on the river by 20 seconds) and Senior I IVs at Rutherford Head.
Men's and Women's crews finish as top Northern University.
The first Durham vs. Newcastle boat race was held in 1994 (originally a race for Senior Men and Women with a Novice Men and Novice Women's race added in 2004) the same day as the Oxford vs. Cambridge and saw an eleven year run of victories for Durham. However the men's first VIII made university history in the same year when they made it to the third round of the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley. Further success was won by Jan Safranek and Rob Latham at National Championships where they won Bronze in a pair. Henley was also a successful year in 1996 when the club beat Princeton in the second round by half a length in 'a very fine race', a victory that made it into The Telegraph
and The Times
under the headlines 'Newcastle Ride Wind' and 'Princeton lurch to defeat in wild weather'. Clearly training on the choppy waters of the Tyne does occasionally have its advantages. The Times even mentioned stroke man Alex Robinson dying his hair a different colour every day for good luck.
Boat Race. It is now in its 13th year (2009). Although the event has been traditionally dominated by Durham, the Newcastle team were the overall winners for the first time in 2009. The event is held annually on the River Tyne
in central Newcastle upon Tyne
in May and is well supported by local spectators. The event comprises 4 races: Men's Championship 8, Women's Championship 8, Men's Novice 8 and Women's Novice 8. The overall event winners are the University winning at least 3 races (a draw, with 2 races won each, leads to retention of the trophy by the previous year's winner). The 2010 races took place on 9 May. Both Universities won 2 races: the event was therefore drawn and Newcastle retained the trophy. The 2011 event resulted in a forfeit to Newcastle University as Durham University declined to race.
, Duisburg Regatta, Memorial Paolo d'Aloja Regatta and Essen Regatta, with victories as well in UK at National Championships, Marlow Regatta
, pennants in the Head of the River Race
in 2006, 2008 and 2010, winners of the Intermediate Coxed Four in 1995 and of the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Cup in the Academic Eight in 2009 at Henley Women's Regatta
and of the Prince Albert Challenge Cup
in 2008 at Henley Royal Regatta
.
The Club came second in the Victor Ludorum at the British University Sports Association (BUCS) Championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2008 BUCS Regatta saw NUBC winning 4 out of 7 heavyweight events. NUBC came third in V.L. in 2010. In the 2011 BUCS regatta, the Newcastle men were winners in the Championship eight, coxed four and pair.
Athletes from the club have won medals at World University Championships and U23 World Championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011, the highlights being University World Champions in men's double at the World University Championships in Trakai in 2006.
set in 2011.
Time to The Barrier 1:57 and time to Fawley 3:19.
Crew: T. Clarke, E. Ford, S. Arnot, G. Rossiter, C. Barry (cox)
Rowing (sport)
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 of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat club for Armstrong College, it celebrated its centenary in 2011.
Training facilities
The club trains on the River TyneRiver Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
from a purpose-built boathouse on the south bank of the river in the village of Newburn
Newburn
Newburn is a semi rural village, parish, electoral ward and former urban district in western Tyne and Wear, North East England. Situated on the banks of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river...
, five miles upriver from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Built in the 1950s, the boathouse is home to the clubs boats, private single sculls and coaching launches; was redeveloped with work finished in 2011. Rowers have access to 35 km (21.7 mi) of tidal water, extending from the picturesque parkland around Wylam
Wylam
Wylam is a small village about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located in the county of Northumberland.It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early rail pioneers. George Stephenson's Birthplace is his cottage that can be found on the north bank of the...
, through the former industrial heartland of the city to Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
. Whilst most training places place along the Wylam, Newburn and Blaydon
Blaydon
Blaydon-on-Tyne is a town in the North East of England in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The former urban district, however, extends much further, its fourteen and a half square miles constituting the largest administrative district, after Newcastle, on Tyneside...
stretches of river, extended paddles offers crews the opportunity to row under the famous Tyne Bridge
Tyne Bridge
The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. It was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough. At the time...
on Newcastle's quayside.
Land training takes place at two sites within the city itself. The club has its own gymnasium at the Henderson Halls of Residence, with Concept2
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...
rowing ergometers, 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...
and Concept2 Dyno machines and a fully stocked free weights suite. The club also has use of the University's main sports centre, next to the Richardson Road Halls of Residence with access to further rowing machines, weights facilities, fitness suite and sports halls for circuit training. Through the University's performance sports programme, elite rowers get access to free physiotherapy, sports massage, nutritional expertise and strength and conditioning coaching.
Boathouse refurbishment
The clubs current boathouse was built in 1953, and by 2009 was in a poor state of repair. Additionally, the growth of the club since 2005 meant that storage space was at a premium and expansion of existing boat racking was essential. In late-2009 the decision was taken by the University to commit £500,000 to a complete refurbishment of the building. When completed, the new facility will have brand new changing/showering facilities, warm-up/stretching area, kitchen and video analysis/meeting room. The existing boat storage area will be refitted with new sliding racks and a dedicated maintenance bay will be created. An additional boat shed has been constructed next to the current building, and it was completed in 2011.Staff
Italian coach, Angelo Savarino was appointed Head Coach of the club in 2005. Since then he has overseen a remarkable transformation of the club, with highlights including winning the Prince Albert Challenge Cup at Henley Royal RegattaHenley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
in 2008, and placing 16th at the Head of the River Race
Head of the River Race
The Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4.25 mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...
. The club has is a consistently strong performer at the British University and Colleges Sport Regatta, placing third overall in 2010. The club also employs a part-time assistant coach and relies on a strong network of experienced volunteer coaches.
The club also employs a boatman, Bradley Jewell who carries out minor and major repairs and upgrades on the club's equipment, and provides technical support travelling to major regattas with the club.
Founding
In 1904, Armstrong College was founded in Newcastle upon Tyne to teach physical sciences. At this time it was part of Durham UniversityDurham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and the boat club - established in Mach 1911 - held the same status as other Durham colleges and competed in intercollegiate events. One of the first races was against the varsity third crew, who they beat and whose place they subsequently took at Durham Regatta
Durham Regatta
Durham Regatta is the premier rowing event in the North East of England, held each year on the second weekend in June on the River Wear which provides a picturesque setting for regattas and head races....
. In 1924, a women's club was established and in 1929, the growing success of the club prompted to construction of a new boathouse on the River Tyne at Stella Haugh, the site of the Battle of Newburn
Battle of Newburn
The Battle of Newburn was fought on 28 August 1640 during the Second Bishops' War between a Scottish Covenanter army led by General Alexander Leslie and English royalist forces commanded by Edward, Lord Conway. Conway, heavily outnumbered, was defeated, and the Scots went on to occupy the town of...
.
The 1930s - King’s College BC
By 1931 the A.C.B.C finally held all the Varsity Trophies after having waited to win the Senate Cup for nine years, an achievement described as a 'truly commendable feat'. The following year the club still held five of the Varsity trophies, despite the Graduate Cup B crew capsizing at the start, and despite a dip in success in the intervening years the club held the same record again in 1934–35.The early thirties also brought successes for the A.C.W.B.C. when in 1932 they won two clinker races against Durham and Bristol and one cutter race against Bristol. However, the late 1940s and early 1950s really saw the women's side of the boat club take off, now as K.C.W.B.C. (King's College Women's Boat Club). In 1948 the KCWBC 'swept the river' at Durham when both the novice and 'B' crew beat Durham. The 'B' crew 'did not display the raggedness of some former women's crews when tired' and 'it was heard on the bank that they gave the best exhibition of women's rowing ever seen on the Wear'.
The Tideway Head of the River was first held in 1926 but the first mention of a Durham VIII that included KCBC oarsmen was in 1949. At that point there were three categories: First, Sandwich and Clinker. First was the fastest twenty-five boats from the previous year, Sandwich was the remainder of shell VIIIs and any new entrants and clinker was the remainder of clinker VIIIs plus any new entrants. The Durham University crew started 90th finishing 41st in a time of 20 minutes and 57seconds, the winners being London RC.
The 1950s
In 1951 a KCWBC VIII was entered for the first time into the University Women's Rowing Association Eights Regatta in Oxford. It was also the first time that they had rowed on swivel pins. The crew made it through to the second round where they drew with Oxford, forcing a half course re-row which they regrettably lost. However, the same year saw the club win the Durham Intercollegiate Ladies Challenge Cup.The women's club was often hampered by prospective novice's view of female rowers. The boat club countered this by stating that 'women's rowing is not full of brawny Amazonian types who develop terrific shoulder muscles' but includes varied physical types from a wide variety of departments'.
In 1951 the land on which the boat house stood at Stella was requisitioned by the British Electricity Authority
British Electricity Authority
The British Electricity Authority was established in 1948 with the nationalisation of the Great Britain's electricity supply industry. It was created by means of the Electricity Act 1947...
for the Stella South Power Station. The club had to move in with Tyne where they were able to store only four boats whilst a new boat house was designed by Mr. Fielden and Mr Wharfe of the University's School of Architecture and subsequently built. It finally opened in 1953 and was this time described as the 'finest boat house in the North of England'. In 1963 the campaign to attract freshers was boosted by the fact that there were baths at the boat house and in 1968 the renovations continued with the conversion of the hot water boiler from coke to oil-fired, a fact keenly mentioned in the King's Courier.
1957 saw the introduction of circuit training and 1959 brought with it the first training launch. Previously coaches had stood at three points along the river between Newburn and Scotswood
Benwell and Scotswood
Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The ward encompasses the Benwell and Scotswood housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and houses offices of companies such as British Airways and...
from where they could see crews row past.
In the summer of 1961 a selected men's VIII went to Norway to the Norske Studenters Roklub where they entered international and local races. The boat house stood on an island in between two 2k regatta courses and was only accessible via boat and was an entirely men only island.
In 1963 three King's oarsmen rowed in the Varsity crew that won the Tideway UAU trophy, coming sixteenth overall and in 1969 the club had three crews in the top 170 despite the first VIII having fallen to 130th the previous year. A year on and the top VIII had swept their way back up to 42nd out of 337 crews whilst the second and third VIIIs came 109th and 177th, clocking up times of 19.41, 20.18 and 20.47 respectively, the first VIII coming 3rd in the UAU Ortner Shield behind Durham and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. Also entered in this year was a 'Gentlemen's VIII', who having not trained since last years HORR fell from 205th to 279th in a time of '3 days, 5 hours, 7 minutes and 6.33 secs' but were undoubtedly going to look 'the most immaculate crew when the Tideway photographs appear'.
The top IV of 1969 due to a mix up in entries for Henley were entered into the British Universities Sporting Federation at Pangbourne
Pangbourne
Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:...
where they had to borrow a boat, 'the only compliment which might be paid to this driftwood was that it floated after a fashion' despite this and a 'hair-raising trip on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
with the oars' the crew went on to win beating Cambridge, Bradford and London in the final.
The social 70s
The social side of the club has always been strong. In 1970 students were invited to 'a glittering ball; Entrance 5s.Rivalry between the club and Durham is also a strong theme throughout the club's history, especially when the club moved up to competing at a university rather than a college level. In 1971 the first VIII came 32nd at Reading Head, only 4 seconds behind the 'invincible' Durham which apparently led them the make seven changes before HORR. Unfortunately these changes seem to have made the difference. Despite breaking an oar in a clash, the first VIII came 26th out of 337 crews, the best result for 8 years, however this placed them second in the UAU shield just behind Durham.
By 1982 NUBC had won the men's Championship VIIIs at the Northern Universities Regatta for eight consecutive years. Helped by these victories and the size of the club, 64 and 80 athletes respectively, the club won the Victor Ludornum in both 1981 and 1982 and then again in 1985.
In 1986 the ugly issue of apartheid muddied the usually tranquil waters of the prestigious Boating Club' when '400 (a contribution towards the '3,800 needed per year to run the club at the time) was accepted from Barclays Bank, who's offer of money to the union had been rejected due to their involvement in South Africa. Despite this, or perhaps due to this, victories were achieved at York Small Boats Head by the 1st IV and elite pair and Tyne Head in Senior III VIIIs. The former was also a successful Head for the club in 1988 when won Senior I and II sculls (James Valerino), Open and Senior I pairs (Simon Mepham and Nick Scott), Open IVs and Professor Jones won Veteran Open double sculls for York City. To balance these successes the Senior III IV was beaten by the Novice 1st IV.
The 90s and new equipment
The club saw an influx of new equipment in 1990 and 1991 when a donation from South ShieldsSouth Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
-born author Catherine Cookson
Catherine Cookson
Dame Catherine Cookson DBE was a British author. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers...
provided for a new men's eight, Tom named after her husband, and a new women's coxed four, named Dixie, which subsequently went on to win College Coxed Fours at Henley Women's Regatta in 1995.
Summer training was taken to a new level in 1993 when eleven guys from NUBC ran from John O'Groats to Lands End to raise money for charity. The group which consisted of Rob Whiticker, Charlie Pryor, Hugo Elliott, Dan Innes, Dan Robb, Rob Latham, Dick Alhadeff, Tim Wadie, Ben Jukes, Jan Safranek and Hadley Dean (the van driver), completed 840 miles in just 9 days. No wonder they went on to win Open coxless IVs (the fastest crew on the river by 20 seconds) and Senior I IVs at Rutherford Head.
Men's and Women's crews finish as top Northern University.
The first Durham vs. Newcastle boat race was held in 1994 (originally a race for Senior Men and Women with a Novice Men and Novice Women's race added in 2004) the same day as the Oxford vs. Cambridge and saw an eleven year run of victories for Durham. However the men's first VIII made university history in the same year when they made it to the third round of the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley. Further success was won by Jan Safranek and Rob Latham at National Championships where they won Bronze in a pair. Henley was also a successful year in 1996 when the club beat Princeton in the second round by half a length in 'a very fine race', a victory that made it into The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
under the headlines 'Newcastle Ride Wind' and 'Princeton lurch to defeat in wild weather'. Clearly training on the choppy waters of the Tyne does occasionally have its advantages. The Times even mentioned stroke man Alex Robinson dying his hair a different colour every day for good luck.
Northumbrian Boat Races
The Northumbrian University Boat Race is an annual challenge between the Universities of Durham and Newcastle in a similar vein to the more famous OxbridgeOxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
Boat Race. It is now in its 13th year (2009). Although the event has been traditionally dominated by Durham, the Newcastle team were the overall winners for the first time in 2009. The event is held annually on the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
in central Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in May and is well supported by local spectators. The event comprises 4 races: Men's Championship 8, Women's Championship 8, Men's Novice 8 and Women's Novice 8. The overall event winners are the University winning at least 3 races (a draw, with 2 races won each, leads to retention of the trophy by the previous year's winner). The 2010 races took place on 9 May. Both Universities won 2 races: the event was therefore drawn and Newcastle retained the trophy. The 2011 event resulted in a forfeit to Newcastle University as Durham University declined to race.
National and International Achievements
Since 1996 the Club has been competing and medalling at the U23, Senior and University World Championships and other International Competitions such European Universities ChampionshipsEuropean universities championships
European Universities Championships are university sports competitions governed by the European University Sports Association . There are currently 16 sports in which the championships are organised...
, Duisburg Regatta, Memorial Paolo d'Aloja Regatta and Essen Regatta, with victories as well in UK at National Championships, Marlow Regatta
Marlow Regatta
The Marlow Regatta is Marlow's international rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs and universities from around the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA...
, pennants in the Head of the River Race
Head of the River Race
The Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4.25 mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...
in 2006, 2008 and 2010, winners of the Intermediate Coxed Four in 1995 and of the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Cup in the Academic Eight in 2009 at Henley Women's Regatta
Henley Women's Regatta
Henley Women's Regatta is a rowing regatta held at Henley-on-Thames, England. It was formed as a result of the lack of women's events at Henley Royal Regatta and first held in 1988...
and of the Prince Albert Challenge Cup
Prince Albert Challenge Cup
The Prince Albert Challenge Cup is an event at Henley Royal Regatta. It is contested by Men's Student Crews in Coxed fours. It has been held since 2004.- History :...
in 2008 at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
.
The Club came second in the Victor Ludorum at the British University Sports Association (BUCS) Championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2008 BUCS Regatta saw NUBC winning 4 out of 7 heavyweight events. NUBC came third in V.L. in 2010. In the 2011 BUCS regatta, the Newcastle men were winners in the Championship eight, coxed four and pair.
Athletes from the club have won medals at World University Championships and U23 World Championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011, the highlights being University World Champions in men's double at the World University Championships in Trakai in 2006.
Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Women's Regatta Wins
Newcastle are the current holders of two records in the Prince Albert Challenge CupPrince Albert Challenge Cup
The Prince Albert Challenge Cup is an event at Henley Royal Regatta. It is contested by Men's Student Crews in Coxed fours. It has been held since 2004.- History :...
set in 2011.
Time to The Barrier 1:57 and time to Fawley 3:19.
Crew: T. Clarke, E. Ford, S. Arnot, G. Rossiter, C. Barry (cox)
| Event | Year | Winning Crew |
|---|---|---|
| The Prince Albert Challenge Cup Prince Albert Challenge Cup The Prince Albert Challenge Cup is an event at Henley Royal Regatta. It is contested by Men's Student Crews in Coxed fours. It has been held since 2004.- History :... |
Winners 2008 | N.O'Reilly, M.Wilcojc, M.Durant, F.Gill, C.Johnson cox |
| The Pricewaterhouse Coopers Cup | Winners 2009 | L.Woods, E.Field, R.Skarra, M.Flaate, A.Wilson, A.Hodges, M.Jones-Walters, E.Earp, R.Macphee cox |
| Intermediate College Coxed Four | Winners 1995 | R.Ingledew, R.Turner, E.Ogren, J.Maguire, J.Knight cox |