It's now 3rd week of Trinity Term and, although our crews have been back in training since -1st week, it's taken until, of all things, this bank holiday weekend before it's started to feel that summer might finally have arrived, with a little over two weeks to Eights (22-25th May). On the Saturday of Eights there will also be a Special General Meeting of the RS to consider proposed changes to the financial management, as outlined by the Chairman, Kevin Skinner.

Intercollegiate Races, 24th March
(Relocated to Dorney Lake)
Men's Race	Caius bt	Balliol	7 L
Women's Race	Downing bt	St John's	1 L

Henley Boat Races, 4th March
(Relocated to Dorney Lake)
Women's Reserves	Osiris	bt	Blondie	6 L	7:41
Women's Lightweights	OUWLRC	bt	CUWBCL	4¾ L	7:33
Women's Blue Boat	OUWBC	bt	CUWBC	1¾ L	7:21
Men's Lightweights	OULRC	bt	CULRC	1⅔ L	6:49

Tideway Boat Races, 31st March
Men's Reserves	Isis	bt	Goldie	⅓ L	17:51
Men's Blue Boat	OUBC	bt	CUBC	1⅓ L	17:28

Abingdon Head, 14th April
320 boats raced, all classes, incl 18 men's VIIIs
1	07:00	Upper Thames	(Mas B/C/D 8)
2	07:30	St Catherine's I	(IM2 8)
3	07:31	St Catherine's II	(IM2 8)
4	07:37	Worcester Coll.	(IM3 8)

One of many new faces in the squad in this post-Olympic year was our own Zoe de Toledo (M.10), coxing the women's VIII. Despite the strong field, they'd looked good prospects for a medal after their performance in the heats but, with all the crew doubling up in other events, the VIIIs final was perhaps just one race too far and they finished 4th.

The next round of the World Cup is at Dorney Lake from 21-23 June 2013.

The day began with the inter-collegiate races, for which Balliol had just pipped Catz by 1 second for the right to represent Oxford. If there is such a thing as a good race to lose, that might have been it: at Dorney Balliol were soundly, and publicly, thrashed by Caius. In the women's race, St John's (Oxford) finished a more respectable second to Downing.

If Cambridge supporters were warmed by those two early victories they should have left at that point. Oxford then took all four of the University races. The reports suggest that the Oxford crews generally opted for a long, low-rating style which was better suited to the difficult conditions. I thought this might have been because they'd done so much of their training at Dorney while the Thames was in flood but I'm told that this was not so (Wallingford, where all the Oxford crews train nowadays, has been considered 'rowable' most of the year).

The next day's Isis-Goldie race was remarkable even before the start: Goldie averaging 13.5 kg a man more than Isis. But the race that unfolded, sadly out of sight of the TV cameras, was a much closer contest with the lead having already changed several times before Isis finally sprinted past Goldie in the last 20 strokes.

Half an hour later the Blue boats set off. Oxford, on the Surrey station, got the better start and quickly established a lead of about ¾ which they held all the way round the big Surrey bend, with Cambridge on the outside effectively having to row faster than Oxford just to stay in touch. The question was: were Oxford rowing within themselves and biding their time, or were Cambridge really faster? The answer came as the river straightened out: Oxford put in a big push for clear water and Cambridge had nothing left to give, allowing Oxford to choose their own line to the finish.

The following table summarises the number of wins in each of the six events. Two notable features emerge: firstly, that Cambridge continue to hold an overall lead in every one of these categories; and secondly, since 2000, Oxford has won more races in every category than Cambridge. Not included in the table are the Men's Lightweight Reserves races, held from 2000-2009, where Oxford did have the advantage in total wins until Cambridge decided that they didn't want to play any more. Perhaps an ominous portent of what might happen if Oxford do finally overhaul the Cambridge total in any of the current competitions. But, for now, the future seems Dark Blue.

Thursday, 15th October, 1936

The Captain appealed to all men to jump upon their friends' backs and bite 'em like a bug of rowing, so to speak, and to urge those so bitten to jump on others' backs, and so ad infinitum - as it were. This was not being successfully done but would be a good thing if it were.

Thursday, 3rd December, 1936

The second ordinary general meeting was not held on Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 2pm on the barge. There was consequently no mention of anything, and the meeting did not stand adjourned at 2.30pm. It is therefore still in a state of nebulous existence sine die, and will need measures extraordinary to cope with it.

Signed, in some doubt,
Captain, 19/1/37

Tuesday, 19th January, 1937

The minutes of the previous meeting were requested, read, and being misunderstood, shelved, so that the meeting of Dec. 3rd is still unconcluded. Searching blindly for something concrete, the Captain and meeting requested the minutes of the meeting before the previous nebulous one, which, being read, discovered and confessed a lamentable lack of knowledge of eighteenth century satire on the part of all save the Secretary.
[footnote: 'bite 'em ... ad infinitum' having being, of course, adapted from Swift]

The Captain passed on to exhortations. Oarsmen were not to be egotistic, nor hasty-tempered, nor make nasty remarks, e.g., 'Bother this contaminated bow-side', nor cast aspersions on the ancestry and probable descendants of other Hon. Members upon no more proof of provocation than personal discomfort.

Thursday, 25th May, 1937

There was general sympathy for the 1st VIII cox who amid a blaze of publicity sustained 12 bumps against him (a record) [presumably also rowing in the 2nd VIII].

The following year's minute book contains just the single terse comment: '[The Captain] did not believe in holding meetings.' but, nevertheless, the Boat Club seems to have been put back on track. You can draw your own analogies with contemporary events in Europe.

This extra week meant that the 1st and 2nd boats have been selected and settled down to regular training earlier than we usually manage these things. On the other hand, many other boat clubs seem to have had the same idea.

The Catz women's 2nd Eight have gone down for the past 3 years and now will have to qualify in Rowing On, but this year's crew is a rather different beast and that shouldn't be a problem. The men's 2nd Eight fell three places last year, but will also be eyeing-up the four crews that lie between them and Div III rather than looking at the crews behind.

I assume an assortment of gentlemen will be found to fill the men's 3rd Eight and other crews may yet materialise between now and Rowing On.

The Rowing Society was founded in the early 1980's and exists to support rowing within the College and to provide social contact amongst alumni with an interest in rowing. A significant element of the Society's support is financial.

The Society has until now administered its own finances entirely independently of the College and maintains its own current and deposit accounts with banks in Oxford. The current arrangement is no longer attractive because subscriptions and donations to the Society do not attract the significant tax advantages available on direct donations to the College by virtue of the College's charitable status. Additionally, the Society is unable in the current financial climate to make more than a miniscule return on reserve funds set aside for future capital expenditure.

Following a decision in principle some time ago, the Society has explored with the College a more beneficial financial arrangement to address these disadvantages. It proposes the creation of a dedicated Rowing Fund within the College's system of Expendable Endowment Funds. Expendable Endowment funds are distinct from Permanent Endowment funds in that there is no requirement to preserve the initial endowment capital. All Rowing Society subscriptions (re-designated as donations), external sponsorship and other rowing-specific income such as bequests and donations would be directed into the new fund. The Rowing Fund will be invested as part of the College's consolidated endowment funds. As a directly invested fund, the return on the College's overall endowment may be positive or negative in an individual year, but of course the overall objective is for beneficial returns.

A Special General Meeting of the Society will be held on Saturday 25th May 2013 at 11:00am in College to formally resolve for the creation of the St Catherine's College Rowing Fund, to amend the Rowing Society Constitution accordingly and to approve the Statement of Purpose for the Fund. Society Members are encouraged to attend.

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