The term started with a training camp in 0th week, with combined water sessions with the women's squad, which was a great success. However, by the time the weekend came, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the river status went up to red flag. Unfortunately, it was to stay like this for several weeks, resulting in the training for the men's squads moving to a land-based timetable.

We had organised a weekend training camp in London, which proved to be very beneficial for both the men and women's first squads, allowing us to get the water time that had been so sorely lacking up until that point. After that weekend, we were able to get out onto the Isis, and water-based training began (albeit still controlled by the rather erratic flag status) and both the men's squads were able to gain the water experience needed to compete in Torpids.

The Men's 2nd Torpid racing on the Wednesday.

The Men's 1st Torpid after Thursday's racing.

By the time Torpids arrived, we were able to field two strong boats. The men's second boat consisted of several novices and, combined with the very little water time, had an uphill battle. However, as soon as the racing started, the boat came together and put in an outstanding performance over the four days, which the results unfortunately do not reflect. The men's first boat had been hit by injuries throughout the term, but we were able to field a very strong side when Torpids started. After four very hard days of racing, in which the crew improved throughout, we had climbed one place in the first division, finishing 5th overall, an absolutely outstanding performance among very tough competition from the other crews.

Torpids this year was one of the most successful in the Boat Club's history which was a testament to the ability that the rowing squads possess, with novice and senior rowers alike showing great commitment, development and skill throughout the term. With the rapid improvements shown by the crews as well as the extra depth which will join us over Trinity term, I am expecting the same success for Summer Eights. I have no doubt that we will be able to claim back the positions that were taken from us last year.

This term started well with a number of the women's 1st VIII attending a training camp at Oxford the week before term started. Unfortunately things went downhill from here; it started to rain and did not stop. The Isis flooded and several weeks of water time were lost. However the W1 did not lose their determination: we kept up land training with relentless erg and gym sessions. At one point the squad even waded down the flooded towpath to reach the erg room for a session! It wasn't till the start of February that the flood waters subsided and the Isis opened again allowing W1 to continue training and W2 to start training. That same weekend the W1 and M1 had been lucky enough to go down to the Tideway to train, courtesy of Darren Chadwick and Imperial College Boat Club. This really kick-started our water sessions; the opportunity to row such a continuous stretch of river really gave the girls some invaluable experience. Following this, W1 came back to Oxford and got back on the Isis. We entered the Isis Winter League and got the third fastest time out of all women's crews entered. This gave us and our coach Rob Hollis a new found boost as the whole squad shifted their focus to the possibility of taking the Torpids Headship from Oriel.

The Women's 2nd Torpid starting as Sandwich Boat on Saturday

The Women's 1st Torpid after rowing over as Head of the River on Saturday.

Alongside W1's training, Alex Zdravkovic and Caz Woffindale had been making sure the women's second boat got as much experience as possible in the couple of weeks leading up to Torpids. Finally Torpids arrived and we were ready for it. W1 bumped Queen's on the first day and rowed over on the second. By the third we were ready to take Oriel, as we knew we were the faster boat. After a shaky start the crew managed to catch Oriel half way down the course, helped by the fact they took a racing line a little too close to the bank. On the last day Catz women were nervous; they knew they were one race away from achieving the ultimate goal in college rowing. At the start of the race Oriel pushed up on Catz but coming out of the Gut Catz extended the gap to 1, followed by 2, then 3 until finally they finished the race nearly 4 boat lengths ahead of Oriel to take the title of Head of the River. W2 also had much to celebrate as, despite an unfortunate crash resulting in a dramatic fall down the division, they still managed to achieve a total of six bumps.

With Torpids over all eyes and training turned to Summer Eights and the possibility of crossed blades! The Women are hoping to enter 3 crews for Eights and continue the successful path we have started on.

Peter Miller had coxed the winning 1967 Oxford crew, becoming Catz' first Blue. The following is an extract from his contribution to The History

In my third year, 1967/68, I was Secretary of the OUBC and was heavily involved with organising college rowing throughout the University, particularly with trying to persuade the senior oarsmen to do some coaching.

I was still the Blue Boat cox until a fortnight before the 1968 Boat Race, but I was around 10 stone, really too heavy to cox, and I was definitely not coxing as well as I had been in the past. After a defeat by the University of London in the Reading Head of the River Race, I was replaced by a lighter cox, so I did not steer in the 1968 Boat Race defeat.

The 1968 St Catherine's 1st Torpid, on the College Barge. Back row: Aiden Dunn, Mark Stevens, Steve Church, Chris Little, Andrew Forbes, Morley Hollenberg. Front row: Stephen Jepps, Simon Clark, Tom Rollason.

That was not quite the end of my rowing career at Oxford, as I pulled an oar in a scratch St Catherine's eight in the bumps, full of stars of yesteryear, which made four bumps somewhere down in the lower divisions. As OUBC Secretary I was also responsible for organising the Summer Eights, although frankly that was not much of a burden. I remember worrying about whether the man with the starting gun would fail to turn up, never having met him, and being relieved that the College Watermen somehow secured his attendance. He had probably had it in his diary since the previous year.

Looking back, I think the main differences between then and now are first the equipment, both the type and the quality of materials used and particularly the very lightweight oars and cleaver blades, which I find make rowing so much easier; the use of ergometers and better weight training equipment. Secondly the standard of rowing, as in all other sports, has improved. The Boat Race crews in recent years have been quite outstanding, treating Putney to Mortlake, which we regarded as an endurance test, as a 17 minute dash. The young men, especially at Blue Boat level, are just larger than we were. Thirdly, there are far more women rowing. St Catherine's was single-sex in the 1960's, as were all the Colleges, and women's crews were rare on the Isis.

I cycle over one of the Cam bridges every day of my life and see college crews throughout term time. I still enjoy listening to the coaches and coxes shouting fairly meaningless commands at oarsmen taking very little notice, and I think back with pleasure to the days when it meant such a lot.

Anu Dudhia (email: dudhia@atm.ox.ac.uk )