In this Issue ...

A couple of scullers getting in an early start in an attempt to avoid the Saturday morning crowds.

We currently have 4 people trialling for the OUBC Squad. Apart from Nick Brodie and Ante Kusurin, both of whom featured in last term's Trial Eights race, there's also Anthony Mullin, from Leeds via Boston, and an ex-Yale cox, Dane van den Akker who, I've just discovered, was the cox of the US Men's IV+ which finished 4th at the 2006 World Championships. With Ante Kusurin's appearance in the Croatian 2x that brings the number of Catz' participants at Eton up to six, more than some of the well-established national federations.

Mal Spencer and Alex Zdravkovic both attended the Lightweights' January training camp in the south of France. They currently have a squad of 20 rowers but, with Cambridge looking unlikely to field a 'lightweight reserve boat' for this year's Nephthys-Granta race, no one's quite sure whether the Oxford Lightweights will end up selecting one or two boats.

In his article in the recent St Catherine's Year, Bastien Ripoll referred to Catz' recent occupation of the stroke seat of the Blue Boat. In fact, a Catz man has stroked OUBC in 5 of the last 6 Boat Races: Matt Smith (twice), Colin Smith, Andrew Triggs Hodge and Bastien Ripoll. The records show that in 2003 we missed out to someone from St Anne's, but that someone turns out to be Matt Smith again, having transferred college for a post-graduate year. As stroke of the winning Trial Eight last December, one feels that Mr Kusurin may not be the man to break with tradition.

At the start of term people were fairly confident of having at least 2 men's boats and 2 women's boats, but the subsequent three weeks of nothing but land-training have taken their toll so at the moment our first Torpids are still fluid and our second Torpids decidedly vaporous. Nevertheless, men's and women's VIIIs have been entered for Bedford Head on 11th February which should be a first opportunity to see how things stand compared with the other colleges.

Torpids this year will run from Wednesday 28th February until Saturday 3rd March. Racing starts at noon each day, with divisions every half hour until 5pm. Our 1st Torpids and Men's 2nd Torpid have fixed places, while any other crews will have to qualify in the Rowing On races to be held on Friday 23rd February.

Possible variations the Men's (left) and Women's (right) 1st Torpids in training over the weekend.

At that time St Catherine's was captained by Tristram Sutton, an Isis oarsman who, the following year, was to become our first ever men's rowing Blue (we'd had our first coxing Blue 10 years previously). But in 1977 we'd already had our first two women's Blues.

The following article, taken from the annual College magazine, also appears in the Boat Club History.

1977 St Catherine's Year

The progress of the Boat Club over the year was varied, though finally magnificent. One could almost have foretold that Hilary term was going to be a disaster when for the first outing in the octalogue [A catamaran-type of training boat, with four rowers either side of a central gangplank.] the weather decided to turn on a blizzard. The whole term was dominated by a rising flood stream with which experienced coxes found difficulty in contending, the evidence of which could be found in any boathouse with damaged bows frequent and chipped blades the rule rather than the exception. However, although training went on, all was in vain as finally Torpids were cancelled due to the danger involved. Attempts to stage an unofficial event, the so-called 'Rapids', failed when the Water Authority issued a red alert flood warning closing the river to all traffic.

The 1977 Men's 1st Eight, which won blades, rising to 20th on the River. Crew: John Greenway (bow), Paul Travers, Tim Alderson, Simon Morgan, Tristram Sutton, Colin Please, Jon Wilmshurst, Robert Hughes (str), Paul Spedding (cox).

Summer Eights, however, was to bring the greatest success and enjoyment. Catz Ladies' rowing this year again made good progress with the gaining of three Blues, and the 1st Eight rowing well to make two bumps.

The 1885 pewter tankard donated by Geoffrey Reeve (who also supplied this photo).

You may have read in the St Catherine's Year about a pair of tankards from the 1880's which have recently resurfaced. Although our records from that era are almost non-existent, E. F. Shepherd, who is listed as the cox on the 1885 trophy, is also listed in OUBC records for the following year as the steersman of a St Catharine's boat racing in the inter-college coxless fours event.

Apart from the names, the inscriptions on the tankards read Oxford University, St Catherine's and Torpid Fours. The spelling of Catherine, with an 'e', is a bit of a surprise since we'd always thought it was spelled with an 'a' at that time (as in the OUBC records), but what were Torpid Fours? Torpids, as a University event, has only ever been for VIIIs, and the OUBC records refer only to a coxless fours competition, which had no entry from St Catherine's in 1883 or 1885, let alone a winning entry, and a clinker fours competition which started in 1889. So my guess is that it must have been an internal Boat Club competition, which perhaps evolved into the Baker Fours first recorded in 1910.

Crew Shields

There has been a recent addition to the set of Crew Shields that adorn the walls of the Club Room in the boathouse: that of the 1987 Men's 2nd Torpid, which rose 5 places to 7th in Div 3.

We still have plenty of space around the walls so, if you feel that your crew deserves to be similarly commemorated for whatever reason - for these purposes, triumph and disaster are treated just the same - contact either myself or the Rowing Society President, Bruce Mitchell, and we'll quote you a price (which was of the order of £ 100 when last I checked, or £ 11 each if you're still on speaking terms with all your crewmates).

In the next newsletter there will either be reports on Torpids or, if the floods return, possibly just a very extended write-up of the AGM complete with embarrassing photos from the Dinner. There definitely will be news on which of our triallists have been selected for the University crews, and a look at the Boat Club of 40 years ago, when Andrew Geddes was Captain and women confined to just 5 colleges. Contributions for the News from Alumni section are always welcome.

11 Feb 2007	Bedford Head
23 Feb 2007	Deadline for RS Dinner payment
28 Feb - 3 Mar 2007	Torpids
3 Mar 2007	RS AGM & Dinner
1 Apr 2007	Henley Boat Races
7 Apr 2007	The Boat Race
23-26 May 2007	Eights
26 May 2007	Boathouse Lunch