Tyne New Year’s Head Race Report

DUBC kicked off 2024 by competing in full force at the Tyne New Year’s Head, an event joint-hosted by Tyne United boat club and ourselves. Despite concerns earlier in the week that inclement weather might curtail the racing, the squad arrived at the course eager to start the year on a high and set the new standard of DUBC racing for 2024. Though the weather wasn’t as bad as had been forecasted, the Tyne produced its usual tricky conditions with cold temperatures and a strong cross wind that picked up throughout the day and made for “interesting” racing.

Division one was kicked off by the men’s 1V which stormed down the track, coping with the conditions well and claiming the win in the band one open eights by over 30s, also making them the fastest boat of the day. They were followed by the men’s second eight who put in a strong performance finishing third in the same division. Both eights were followed down the track by two women's fours, who mirrored the men's results by winning both band 1 and 2 open coxed fours. Special mention must go the women's second coxed four which was made up of members from our development squad who made not only their DUBC debut, but their rowing debut too. A win in their first event is credit to all the hard work development coach Holly Young has put into the squad this year. Perhaps it is a sign of more to come as well – two years ago, the devs of the 2021/22 season also took their first win at this event and would go on to become one of the most successful dev years in the club’s history…

Tyne New Year’s head also provides excellent practise for the members of our squad competing in the upcoming U23 British rowing trials. This opportunity was firmly grasped by the DUBC women’s pairs and singles who put down impressive performances to close out the division. A composite pair from Newcastle and DUBC’s own Anna Grace won the pairs category, with a DUBC pair of Daisy Jackson and Izzy Kennedy claiming second place, and Izzy Sellers taking second in the women’s single.

In division two it was the women’s turn to take to the eights. The first eight put in an incredibly strong performance, winning the category over our local rivals Newcastle University by just under 25s. This story was matched by the 2V who beat their Newcastle counterpart by 0.2s, winning band 2 open eights. These wins overturned the disappointing results from earlier in the season at Rutherford head. They were followed by the men's fours who looked to match the women's results from division one. The men’s coxed four claimed the top prize in their division putting in another strong performance, while the two coxless fours finished third and fourth respectively. The day of racing was wrapped up by the men’s trial boats, with George Reed winning the men’s pair in his Newcastle composite crew with DUBC’s Will Morgan-Jones and March Turnbull finishing second, and in the men’s single Charlie Warren won the division by over 25s. Wins across almost all events ensured that over 90% of the squad returned to Durham with some “silverware” (the fabled TURC/DUBC mug).

DUBC now look to build on these impressive results in the upcoming U23 trials as well as looking forward towards defending the overall VL at BUCS head in a few weeks’ time.

 

Rutherford weekend report

After a term of race cancellations due to weather conditions, this past weekend saw DUBC kick of their season racing at Rutherford Head, as well as hosting a fixture against Molesey and Edinburgh on the Tyne.

 

On Saturday, DUBC came out in full force to compete at Rutherford Head, which is one of the largest races in the North of England with around 300 crews racing on the day. Division 1 kicked off with the men’s first and second eights racing down the familiar 5km course between the A1 Bridge to the Newcastle boat house steps. Conditions were near perfect with very little wind and despite the sub-zero temperatures, both crews performed well, with the 1V finishing 4th overall in a strong open division and the 2V finishing 8th in their band. Division 1 also saw a women’s quad take on the course. Crews put on very strong performances with the women’s quad finishing 2nd in their division missing out on a win by just over 3 seconds.

 

In division 2 it was the women’s turn to take on the track in the eights. After a very quick turn around following division 1, the women’s 1V kicked off the racing, followed by the men’s fours. The women’s eight raced well and matched the men's result finishing in 4th place in a stacked field. They were followed by 3 men's fours, 2 coxed and one coxless, all three crews produced promising results with the coxed fours finishing 2nd in band 1 and 3rd in band 2 respectively. The coxless four was the last DUBC boat to race on the day, where they raced well and finished 2nd in their category missing out on 1st by less than a second. 

 

The weekend was not done there however, with DUBC returning to the Tyne less than 24 hours later to race in a private fixture against Edinburgh and Molesey. This was an excellent opportunity for DUBC to test their speed in a multi-lane setting.

 

The day started with a rate capped 3km time trial from scrapyard corner to the Newcastle Steps. The main aim of this being to speed match crews for later side by side racing. However, the men’s and women’s eights raced hard with the men’s 1V finishing 1st overall out of the men, overturning the result from Rutherford, and Women’s 1V finishing 3rd out of the Women after a strong performance.

 

Next was the side-by-side races, where three boats would race from a standing start over a 1km course. This was the focus of the day, and all crews performed very well and produced extremely promising results. Special mention must go to Eleanor Morris who, after an injury in the Men’s 1V, subbed into the bow seat (she’s a strokesider) for the side-by-side races.

 

Thank you to Edinburgh and Molesey for staying an extra day and for some fun racing. The club enjoyed getting to meet you all on Saturday evening for dinner after Rutherford’s racing.

 

Overall, the racing crews grew in confidence throughout the weekend and are hungry for the work that needs to be done over the Christmas period. DUBC now looks forward to the new year and the remainder of the Head Race Season. 

 

A Summary of DUBC Athletes' International Summer

As the club completed its second week of preseason, the members of the squad delighted in being able to watch the alumni racing at the World Championship and welcome esteemed boatclub alumnus, Sophie Hosking MBE (above), to be inducted into Team Durham’s Hall of Fame. It is inspiring to watch those that have trodden the same paths as you, go on to such success. It allowed everyone in the club the opportunity to reflect on the incredible achievements of DUBC athletes past and present throughout the international summer and inspires us to press on harder into the new season.

 

A summary of that success:

This summer has seen many Durham athletes, both past and present, compete at the highest level possible in our sport and produce some incredible results. With current athletes representing their country at U23 World and European Championships, as well as DUBC alumni putting on a show at the World Rowing championships over the past week, it is clear that this has been one of DUBC’s most successful international summers.

 

U23 World Championships:

In July, 5 members of DUBC were selected to represent GB, at the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. This is the largest number of DUBC athletes selected for these championships in many years.  DUBC had athletes competing in 4 different events over the course of the week: Andrew Mettrick was selected for the Men’s eight, Evelyna Davies and Anna Grace were selected for the Women’s eight, Philippa Emery was selected for the Women’s four and Izzy Sellers for the Women’s lightweight double. 

With athletes in the A final of both men’s and women’s eights, the women’s four and with the lightweight women’s double winning the B final in a time that would have placed them 4th in the A final, DUBC showed both the strength and depth of its current athletes. The women’s eight and four suffered brutal races, each culminating in a still brilliant 4th place, and the men’s eight achieved a fantastic gold, meaning that all three levels of GB men’s eights; junior, u23, and senior, took victory in the world championships – a first in international rowing. This was just the beginning of the summer for Durham athletes at an international level.

U23 European Championships:

August saw three members of DUBC represent GB at the U23 European Championships in Krefeld Germany. Evelyna Davies was once again selected to represent GB, but this time in the Women’s four and Gus John and George Reed were selected for the Men’s eight. Both boats would race in their respective A finals.  

On finals day, the Women’s four was the first boat from GB to race. Coming into the last 500m in last place, a blistering final quarter from Evelyna’s crew saw them storm to victory making her a European Champion. In a very tight race that also came down to the last few hundred metres, the GB Men’s eight held off surges from the competition to finish 2nd. This brought the total for the summer to 2 golds, 2 silvers, 3 fourth places and a seventh: one of the most successful years in memory for current DUBC athletes.

 

World Rowing Championships:

Then it was the turn of the DUBC alumni to demonstrate their prowess. Three of our alumni were selected to represent their country at the highest level possible in the sport. Lauren Irwin and Tash Morris were selected for the Women’s eight and George Bourne for the Men’s quad. 

Just like their younger counterparts, both boats put in strong performances in their respective qualifying races, ensuring all DUBC alumni would race in their A finals on the weekend.

The finals were kicked off by the Men’s quad. In a race that was hard fought all the way to the line, George and the rest of the Men’s quad narrowly missed out on the medals finishing 4th by 0.73s. The final day of racing saw the final of the Women’s eight. The final was yet another race that was hard fought all the way to the finish. After a strong performance the eight also finished 4th overall and missed out on the podium by just over a second. Nonetheless, both crews secured qualification for the upcoming Olympics, a monumental achievement for all involved. All of the athletes taking part in preseason watched the races closely and it was inspiring to see the alumni of our club competing at such a high level.

 

A total of 10 members of DUBC past and present represented their club and country over the course of the summer, making it one of the most successful international campaigns ever for DUBC as we near our 150thanniversary. It is testament to their hard work and dedication throughout not only the year, but their whole rowing career. Each of these athletes has played a huge part in the ethos of DUBC and helped to drive the standards of the club by providing an example to all aspiring athletes within the club. They have all done DUBC proud and the club looks to continue their successes into the future.

A Gold and two Silvers for DUBC rowers at the European Champs

Following a hugely successful season for both DUBC and GB, 3 members of the squad raced in the final event of the season: the under-23 European championships. Going through the gruelling season-long trialling process, 3 athletes put in strong performances throughout, earned their vest and were selected to represent their country on the highest stage. Coming off a resilient 4th place finish in the Women’s eight at U23 Worlds, Evelyna Davies was selected for the Women’s four in what was her third time representing GB this season. After excellent seasons of their own, George Reed and Gus John were both selected for the men’s eight. Their selection brings the total number of vests won by current DUBC athletes this season to an astonishing 7. The club is immensely proud of all of them.

 

Day one of the competition saw both boats race in preliminary races. The Men’s eight only had 5 entries and the Women’s four had 3. This meant that all crews would automatically make it into their respective finals. Despite this, both crews would put in strong performances in these races, each finishing second. An impressive result for George and Gus’ first international race. These races built confidence for all DUBC athletes going into the finals on Sunday, while also getting used to racing on the course and, in the case of Evelyna, swapping to row on a different side! Yet more evidence or her unbelievable talent.

Evelyna racing in the bow seat on strokeside (she raced on bowside all year!)

 

Then came day two, finals day. The Women’s four was the first British crew to race in their final. The crew sat in last place coming through the 1500m marker but after a devastating move they stormed to victory with a blistering last 500m, securing the gold medal in a time of 7:01. Evelyna tops off Andrew Mettrick’s gold at Worlds, with her own brilliant gold. An incredibly well-deserved medal after all the work she put in throughout the year. Congratulations Lyna!

 

The weather then took a turn for the worse, meaning that the Men’s eight final was delayed until later in the afternoon. In the very last race of the day, the crew stormed out the blocks and after a strong middle 1km were level coming through the 1500m mark. Despite dogged moves from the crews from Ukraine and Germany, the GB crew managed to hold them off, finishing second with a time of 5:39. George returns to Durham for another year where he will continue to represent the squad and drive up the performance. Gus moves on to Cambridge University, where we expect to see him tearing it up down the Boat Race Course. Good luck Gus.

Gus - Back row, second from left

George - Front row right.

 

To have each member of DUBC who represented their country to come away with a medal in these championships is testament to their hard work and dedication throughout the season. Massive congratulations to Evelyna, George and Gus for their incredible achievement. All of them put in outstanding performances across the weekend and have made DUBC proud.

Andrew Mettrick - World Champion

A report of the week, written by athlete Izzy Sellers.




After a year of hard work and 4 sets of progressive trials, 5 members of DUBC were selected to represent GB as part of the team going to the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Evelyna Davies and Anna Grace in the Women’s 8+, Andrew Mettrick in the Men’s 8+, Phillipa Emery in the Women’s 4-, and Izzy Sellers in the Lightweight Women’s 2x.

Anna Grace (left) and Evelyna Davies (third from the right).

 

We first moved straight into a hotel and spent a week in a residential training camp at Caversham getting used to rowing with our crewmates and doing speed tests to get a sense of our pace, before flying out to Bulgaria with the team 5 days before the champs. The weather in Plovdiv was between 36-38 degrees celcius, meaning we trained early in the mornings to avoid the worst of the heat, and had to be extra careful to cover up from UV, rehydrate constantly, and acclimatise our lungs to rowing in those temperatures for the 4 days of training at the lake we had before the event started. Racing was immensely tough in the heat, just making it through the 2k race felt like an achievement but we had an amazing support team who rushed over to the pontoons with ice jackets, water, electrolytes and umbrellas post-race.

Phillipa (left) and coach, Will Fletcher

 

Our racing started on Thursday with heats. Both the men’s and women’s eights won their heats comfortably, progressing straight to their A finals. Phillipa in the 4- and Izzy in the Lwt2x missed out on straight progression, and instead took on the repecharges on Friday. Both crews won comfortably, Phillipa going straight to the A final and Izzy making it to the semi-finals on Saturday. In the Lwt2x semi-final, Izzy came up against the eventual top 3 medal winners of the event, and so after coming a close 4th place, missed out on qualifying for the A final.

Izzy (right).

 

Finals day on Sunday saw 38-degree temperatures and some incredibly tough racing in all events. First, in the Lwt2x B final, Izzy took a demanding win, putting down a time that would have placed them 4th in the A final, showing their pedigree despite an unlucky draw in a competitive event. Phillipa and the 4- showed a strong performance in their A final, ultimately placing 4th in a fast field. Evelyna and Anna fought until the line in the women’s 8 final, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal with a photo-finish by just 0.06 seconds after an incredible final sprint. Andrew and the men’s 8 stormed through the field in the second half of their A final, leaving their competition behind in the last 500m and taking gold, earning the title of U23 World Champion.

 

Andrew - 2023 men’s eight World Champion

Having 5 athletes represent our country at these championships is not only an incredible achievement for DUBC and a testament to the hard work and abilities of the club, but was an invaluable and enjoyable experiences for all of us there. All of the athletes performed outstandingly, but special credit must go to Andrew and his crew for their emphatic gold. A memory he is sure to take with him for the rest of his life.

Triple Gold for Durham boys at Home Internationals

Four Durham rowers, Calum Betteley, Oliver Pearson, Dominic Newton and Levin Gräf were selected to represent England in the coxless 4 and the coxed 8 at the 2023 Home International Regatta. After a long rowing season with much success for these athletes, including an immense medal haul at both BUCS regatta and BUCS head, the opportunity to step on to the International scene presented itself and they rowed a stellar 1500 metre time trial, winning the selection regatta by 13 seconds to secure selection in emphatic style.

The weekend itself was a wet and windy affair in the north-west of the Republic of Ireland at the recently developed rowing course on Lough Rynn. The first task for the four Durham athletes was the coxless 4 on Saturday morning. A strong first 500 metres positioned the England four 3 lengths ahead of the rest of the field, this was the story throughout the remaining 1500 metres and the lead extended to 6 lengths by the finish line leaving the Durham athletes with their first International medal of the weekend.

(From left to right) Levin, Dom, Calum and Ollie.

The next challenge was stepping into the eight. This was made up of the four Durham rowers as well as a mixture of London based clubs including London RC, Vesta and Marlow. This offered a different challenge as different rowing styles came into play. However, this didn’t stop the England crew from asserting their dominance yet again, winning both the 2000m race and 500m race by clear water. Calum, Oliver, Dom and Levin left Ireland with 3 gold medals from 3 events at their first senior International regatta showing the strength that the Durham programme, headed by Rob Dauncey and the support of Team Durham, has when placed on the International stage. Congratulations to these four athletes!

“The triple has been secured” - Cal

Henley Royal Regatta 2023

DUBC had set their sights on Henley Royal Regatta for much of academic year. The prestigious regatta is the best chance for the squad to test themselves against the world's best and showcase their speed after a year of hard work and dedication to the club. The men’s squad had come off impressive results at MET and Durham regatta, and had entered 3 eights into the Temple as well as a Prince Albert four made up of our incredibly successful development squad. Having proven themselves throughout the year, the men’s first eight secured pre-qualification for the Temple where they were also seeded in the competition. The PA four, with their excellent back-to-back wins on the Saturday and Sunday at Durham regatta also joined the Temple ‘A’ crew in securing pre-qualification. This alone is an incredible achievement for the athletes involved, as qualifying for Henley is a target for rowers across the country and they had accomplished it in only their first year of rowing. That meant that Temple ‘B’ and ‘C’ had to race for their spots at qualifiers. After gutsy performances from the two eights, both boats secured qualification making history as the first time that DUBC has qualified three eights in the Temple. This is a massive achievement for the club and is testament to the depth of talent on offer in the squad. 

 

On the women’s side, DUBC had entered two eights into the very competitive Island challenge cup: an impressive achievement in itself. However, having not prequalified, Island ‘A’ and ‘B’ were both set to race for their spots at qualifiers. Having a point to prove, Island ‘A’ put in an incredibly strong performance and not only secured their spot in the Island Challenge Cup but were ultimately seeded in the event. Unfortunately, Island ‘B’ came up short and, despite a great performance, did not qualify for the regatta.   

 

For most crews in the regatta, racing would commence on Tuesday. Having secured a bye, the Island ‘A’ crew would wait for their first race until Thursday, and racing would begin on Wednesday in the Prince Albert so the four would also have to wait to kick off their Henley campaign. Temple ‘A’ began their regatta with a race against Edinburgh ‘B’. This did not prove to be a problem for them, winning the race by a verdict of 2 1/4 lengths. Unfortunately for Temple ‘B’ and ‘C’ the draw meant that their races would be far more difficult. Temple ‘B’ came up against Princeton ‘A’ and put in a gutsy performance, ultimately losing, but holding Princeton to just over a length all the way down the track. Temple ‘C’ drew Cambridge for their race on the Tuesday and despite a strong performance they too were knocked out. 

DUBC 3V Lining up to take on Cambridge

 

Wednesday brought about the start of the PA four’s Henley campaign. Despite the incredible achievement of qualifying for the regatta, the PA four was unlucky to draw the American powerhouse Brown University. The five members of our development squad left it all on the course but were beaten by the American crew. Also racing on Wednesday was the Temple ‘A’ crew, who also came up against an American boat, Cornell University. The American crew started fast and pulled out to about a half a length lead over Durham. Durham then began to move back on Cornell for much of the race but ran out of water and were beaten by 3 feet in one of the closest races in the regatta. 

 

Thursday saw Island ‘A’ being the only Durham crew left in the regatta. They would come up against Radcliffe Crew ‘A’ from the USA. Durham stormed out of the blocks and took a length’s lead coming off the Island, a lead which would only increase as they rowed away from Radcliffe to take a 3-length victory, and progress to the next day. On Friday, Durham would face their local rivals Newcastle, a race any Durham athlete would say is an important one. Durham once again went hard out of the blocks and took a few seats on Newcastle; this would increase to over a length by the barrier. The women continued to move away throughout the race as they lead by just under 2 lengths in an impressive victory over the blue star.  

 

Saturday, saw the Durham crew come up against Oxford Brookes University ‘A’, who have been dominating the women’s university rowing scene all year. Durham took the race to the favourites, holding Brookes to a couple of seats coming off the island. However, despite their best-efforts Brookes moved away in the middle of the race and Durham lost by around 1 1/2 lengths. Despite this result, this is the first time in history a Durham crew has made the semi-final of the Island challenge cup and it is an incredible achievement for the club and all the athletes involved. 

 

After a season of historic results at regattas such as BUCS and Henley Women’s Regatta. DUBC capped of their season at the ever-brilliant Henley Royal Regatta where we showcased the depth of our squads as well as how we can compete with the very best the university scene has to offer. We hope to build on this impressive year and continue these results in the year to come. 

HRR Qualifying

On the week of the 19th of June, the Men’s and Women’s squads rendezvoused in Putney, having been training separately for a few weeks, for the annual awarding of the palatinate all-in-ones to the members of our first eights. The occasion also allowed the club to officially name and celebrate the acquisition of two new Filippi eights, one for the men and one for the women. DUBC have begun naming our boats after esteemed alumni who have competed over various Olympics in the years passed. This instalment of boats featured the Tessa Millar and the Roger Brown. It was fantastic to be able to celebrate the achievements of athletes past and present and see lots of other alumni and parents at the event.

 

After this, the crews travelled to Henley so that those pre-qualified could acclimatise to conditions and complete their final bits of preparation. For those crews still required to qualify there was less time to prepare. Both women’s eights and the men’s second and third eights needed to test their mettle down the course on Friday in order to secure spots for the following week. The women were the first to tackle a firm headwind and swirly conditions. Watching from the banks, the men were impressed to see the first eight showing their speed, overtaking a crew as they passed through the grandstands. They clearly put in an immense performance with the stewards eventually seeding them in the draw, something they only do for very fast qualifiers. Unfortunately, the second eight were the fourth fastest non-qualifier, missing out on a spot at the regatta, but with a number of injuries in the weeks leading up to the race, it was still a valiant effort and they did the club proud.

 

The men’s run down the course faced equally strong winds and testing conditions. With lots of support along the banks, the second eight produced an asserted row, finding a good rhythm through the booms to insure their place the following week. For the third eight the stakes were slightly higher. A disappointing result in the final at Durham regatta had made the 3V hungry to find more speed and do their bit to represent the club at Henley. Three weeks of hard work paid off when the Stewards announced the qualifiers for the Temple Challenge Cup. The pause after “Durham University B” felt eternal as the two crews waited with bated breath for either “Durham University C” or “Edinburgh…”, in what would mean jubilation or heartbreak. At “Dur…” nothing else would be heard as both crews erupted into celebration. It is the first time Durham has qualified three eights for the Temple and the camaraderie between crews evidences the tight nature of the squad. DUBC is one club and wins and loses together. More history was made with two seeded crews, one in the Island and one in the Temple and an overall total of 41 athletes competing across the week.

Victory in the Haslam Trophy at HWR 2023

Coming off very strong performances at Met Regatta, the women’s squad stayed down south to compete in Henley Women’s Regatta. Eights racing was put to one side as the two boats split up into various small boats to compete in the regatta. DUBC entered 4 boats: three into champ events; a champ coxless four, quad and lightweight double, as well as an aspirational double. All boats would have to qualify to progress, so a good time trial was crucial. All boats put in strong performances and progressed to the side-by-side racing. 

 

Racing was kicked off on Saturday by the Champ quad who would come up against Thames ‘A’. In a race which would come down to the very last stroke, Durham went out hard and took an early lead, but in the middle of the course Thames came back and the crews were level coming into the finish with Thames winning by only one foot. The Aspirational double were next coming up against Upper Thames ‘A’ who proved no problem for the Durham double, taking a commanding 3 1/2 length win. The double would then go on to race DSRV Laga from the Netherlands later the same day in another close race, but despite a gutsy row from Durham they came up short, losing by only 3/4 of a length. Despite having a bye from the first round, the Champ 4- would kick off their campaign on Saturday and comfortably beat University of Pennsylvania ‘A’ with a margin of over 3 lengths.  

 

Sunday saw two Durham boats remaining in the regatta. The Lightweight double kicked off their regatta in a semi-final race against the University of Wisconsin. Durham stormed to victory putting a huge gap on their opposition, winning by a verdict of “easily” to progress to the final. The Champ 4- would then race in their semi-final against Leander ‘B’, in yet another close race which went all the way to the line Durham came out on top and won by a canvas, meaning that Durham would have two crews in finals of championship events – a monumental achievement for the club as well as the athletes. The four would be up first and were set to come up against the might of Leander once again, going out of the blocks hard Durham held Leander ‘A’ to just under a length, however a huge push from Leander in the second half sealed the race with the Durham four coming up short. Next was the Lightweight double, who came up against Reading University. Durham led the race from the outset and again won by a huge margin of 5 lengths taking the Haslam Trophy. This is the first time since 2015 that a Durham crew has won an event at the regatta and is an outstanding achievement for the club and athletes. Congratulations to Carrie and Izzy.

 

This was one of DUBC’s most successful Henley Women’s Regattas in history, testament to the strength and depth of the women’s squad. They looked to carry on this form back into the eights for Henley Royal and into the upcoming year where they look to mirror this success. 

DUBC returns to Durham Regatta

Whilst DUBC’s women were training hard in the south preparing for Henley Women’s Regatta, the men took on the 189th rendition of Durham Regatta on the 10-11th of June, affectionately known as the “Henley of the North”. On Saturday our development squad represented the club brilliantly with entries into the quad, coxed four and singles events. A fast start for the quad meant they rattled a more experienced Sheffield University crew, however a couple of unfortunate encounters with the bank meant the result ultimately went Sheffield’s way. The coxed four also took on a more experienced crew in their first round of the intermediate category but raced well for a three-length victory over York University. They would go on to face Collingwood College and Sheffield University, beating both by two lengths in order to reach the final. In a close fought battle with Berwick ARC they emerged victorious, taking home the Durham City Plate and kick starting a winning weekend for DUBC.  

 

Sunday saw the senior men join the development programme on a packed-out racecourse. The Devs were once again well represented, racing and beating more experienced crews. The same coxed four from Saturday beat Hatfield in the final of the Durham University Challenge Trophy, to go undefeated for the weekend and defend the trophy also won by last year’s Devs. These five athletes will be travelling down with the senior squad in an attempt to qualify for the Prince Albert University Coxed Fours event at Henley Royal Regatta. An exceptional achievement in itself, the club knows they will perform well down the Henley course and wishes them the best of luck. 

 

For the senior men, Sunday morning also saw racing in coxed fours. Both crews won their respective heats down the long course, with expert navigation of the infamous Elvet bridge, and faced off in the final. A highly anticipated event saw lots of support down the course with an exceptionally close race. Whilst Levin Gräf’s crew were first across the line, an unfortunate missed buoy caused a disqualification and Dom Newton’s crew took the win.  

Regardless, an excellent exhibition of our top male athletes, Durham was victorious in this, the Grand Challenge Cup. The afternoon saw eights take to the course for a 700m sprint down the short course. In the Open Championship B category, the 3V were given a scare by hosts, Durham Amateur Rowing Club, who jumped them off the start, but the boys remained calm (ish) and rowed through the local crew to win their opening heat. The 2V and 1V faced their respective Newcastle University crews in their opening heats of the Open Championship A category. A fierce rivalry resulted in fierce racing with both Durham crews emerging victorious to force an all-Durham affair in the final for the second time of the day. The 3V also took on their opposite Newcastle crew in their semi-final. A superb victory by clear water completed the clean sweep of wins over Newcastle and overturned the disappointing result at Boat Race of the North, ensuring Durham defended their home water on the Weir and showed who truly runs the Tyne! Unfortunately, they would go on to lose to Tyne ARC in the final. Congratulations to Tyne, who like DARC took it to the boys hard off the start, but this time managed to hold on for a victory by barely a canvas. 

 

The final of the Durham alumnus, Reverend C.J. Saunders Cup, Champ A category may have been a foregone conclusion, but the second eight were determined to test their speed and pushed the first eight all the way to the line. With all eights separated by only six seconds in their respective finals, Durham showed not only their speed but also their depth. Each eight joins the women and devs at Henley, looking to qualify three boats for the Temple Challenge Cup for the first time in the University’s history. Thank you to DARC for hosting an excellent event, to all the crews that came from across the country to compete, and to all the supporters of Durham University who made the journey to cheer on the atheletes. 

11 Athletes at GB Final Trials

DUBC had 11 athletes attending the Final GB Senior/U23 April Trials. This is a record number. It has been decades since Durham has managed to produce that many athletes with such a high level of calibre that won them their invite to the Final April Trials.


We had 3 men’s pairs racing; Andrew Mettrick & Gus John, George Reed & Jack Roberts and Levin Graf & Tom Cross (ULBC). All performed exceptionally well, racing the time-trial hard and securing themselves positions in the C-Final, D-Final and C-Final, respectively. We had 2 women’s pairs racing and a women’s lightweight single; Philippa Emery & Evelyna Davies, Jordan Kingston & Anna Grace and Izzy Sellers. All raced impressively, securing themselves positions in the B-Final and C-Final, respectively. Izzy Sellers was the fastest U23 Lightweight Woman which was an incredible result for both her and the club. 


In the finals, Andrew Mettrick and Gus John’s pair stormed the C-Final, leading out the pack in the early stages of the race and ultimately taking a third place finish which solidified them as the 3rd U23 men’s pair. Levin Graf and Tom Cross took a 6th place finish in the same final. George Reed and Jack Roberts managed to finish 4th in the D-Final after a tough race.


On the women’s side, Philippa Emery and Evelyna Davies managed to place 4th in the B-Final which positioned them as the top women’s U23 pair. A huge achievement for them and the club. Jordan Kingston and Anna Grace managed to place 2nd in the C-Final after a close race against some stiff competition. 


All of our athletes were invited to testing and seat racing the week after the initial trials, in which they all had the opportunity to row with others from different clubs in fours and eights. Overall, an awesome weekend for our trialists and the boat club.

Victor Ludorum at BUCS Regatta 23

Last weekend, DUBC travelled down to Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, to compete at the annual BUCS Regatta. We had a record number of boats and crews entered into the event, with 3 full trailers being driven down. Historically, DUBC had seen great success at the event, winning the Victor Ludorum in multiple consecutive years on both the men and the women’s side. The regatta is always an important event, as it gains the university valuable BUCS points which helps to solidify its position on the national sporting scene. Success at the regatta also aids the boat club financially as it proves to the university that we are still the premier sporting team.


This year was perhaps the most successful regatta that the boat club has had in over a decade. We won the overall Victor Ludorum by 80 points, which has not been done since 2015, and also the women’s Victor Ludorum by 16 points, which was a massive achievement for our women’s squad and pays testament to the hard training they have been taking on over the last few months. We also medalled in both the men’s (silver) and women’s (bronze) Championship Eights, arguably the blue riband event of the entire regatta, which is something that also has not been achieved in many years.


Our day by day results became more and more impressive as the weekend went on, with Saturday seeing success in events such as a gold in the Women’s Championship Lightweight Double, a silver in the Men’s Championship 8, and a silver in the Women’s Championship Pair. There were a number of close 4th place finishes in the Men’s Intermediate Eight, the Women’s Championship Quad and another of our Women’s Championship Pair.  


Sunday saw gold in the Women’s Intermediate Lightweight Single for Carrie Rijkse, who went on to win 5 medals over the course of the weekend. There was gold in the Women’s Championship Lightweight Four, bronze in the Women’s Championship Eight, the Men’s Championship Coxless Four, the Men’s Championship Coxed Four and the Women’s Championship Lightweight Single. A strong middle day for DUBC.


Monday was certainly our most successful day. We picked up medals in events such as gold and silver in the Women’s Lightweight Intermediate Pair, a gold in the Women’s Championship Coxed Four, a gold and silver in the Men’s Intermediate Pair, a gold and bronze in the Men’s Championship Pair, a gold in the Women’s Lightweight Intermediate Quad and a silver in the Women’s Championship Double. A huge well done to all of the lightweight athletes who competed, who doubled up on events on all of the days, rowing in up to 6 races per day. 


This success allowed us to regain the Victor Ludorum after a long 8 years of falling short. It truly marks DUBC’s resurgence onto the national stage. We’d like to say a massive thankyou to all of the parents who helped out with the food tents. The provision of food for our athletes was absolutely essential and undoubtedly played a huge role in the club’s success over the weekend.

DUBC Take On WEHORR

On the 5th of March DUBC competed at the prestigious Women’s Eights Head of the River event, on the famous Tideway course. Eighteen of our women’s squad travelled down south a few days before to get a feel for the tricky Tideway conditions and lines. With some good final pieces in preparation done through Chiswick to Barnes, this event was hoping to tie off a long winters graft and step on after a great BUCS head.

The first 8+, coming off a strong BUCS victory, rowed hard to come 12th. The race began just behind home water rivals, Newcastle University, who were worked hard on to gain upon. Hot on Durham’s heels came Leander D, who gained up until Hammersmith where a great shift was put in, holding the attacking crew off until the finish, demonstrating an exciting basis for the upcoming regatta racing. Despite best efforts and some of the most impressive results in the last few years, the race was considered a somewhat of a lacklustre performance compared to the result achieved at BUCS. With a lot learnt and a renewed fire, the women’s squad will be hungry knowing there is much more speed to come and be excited to see what summer brings.

Next up was the turn of the second eight, coxed by Cecily Kay. This crew produced their best performance yet, rowing hard and long, to finish a strong 32nd complemented by an excellent line. This demonstration of the dedication and graft put in over the dark winter months resulted in them achieving the fastest time in their category by an impressive 28 seconds which also happened to be a course record within their category. This was an exceptional performance and one that the whole crew can certainly be proud of. It bodes exceptionally well for the future of DUBC with many freshers being included in this crew.

Now our attention turns towards our next block of hard training and the subsequent regatta season, post Head of the River, where we are excited to get stuck in to some side by side racing and finding some real speed.

Huge Success at BUCS Head

BUCS 4's and 8's Head returned up North for the second year running, racing over the 18th and 19th of February '23. Universities across the country came to the River Tyne, to compete for the Victor Ludorum (VL), as well as capture sacred BUCS points in a sport that has few BUCS affiliated competitions. Durham University Boat Club (DUBC) had big shoes to fill, once again racing on their home waters. 

DUBC took the event by storm. Almost every single athlete medalled at least once over the course of the weekend, which truly is a phenomenal feat. 

 

Women's Squad

The women’s squad came away with the women’s Victor Ludorum for the first time since 2015, going home with 3 golds and 1 bronze medal; with every woman who raced winning at least one! The squad started the day with two eights in Division 1. Their first eight won gold in the Championship category for the first time, beating Edinburgh and Newcastle by 4.5s. Whilst the second eight took bronze in the Intermediate category. In division 2 the 8's split and raced a Championship coxed four, coxless four, quad, and lightweight coxless four. DUBC's quad and coxless four put out strong performances, both coming 5th, whilst the coxed and lightweight fours brought back two more golds, with the lightweights winning by a huge 105 seconds. With such a massive success from such a strong group of women, the squad and their coaches are definitely excited about what’s to come from the rest of the racing year, starting with Women’s Head of the River in two weeks and building into regatta season…

Men's Squad

The Tyne actively welcomed all competitors in the first division with quintessentially rough conditions making it not only a physically but also technically challenging race for all crews. DUBC’s men's squad took on the first division in fours and quad combinations; bringing home 5 medals to start the day with the standout performance coming from the Championship coxless four, who stormed to a gold medal with a lead of 56 seconds to the nearest crew from Imperial College London.

In the afternoon, the second division saw picture perfect conditions where DUBC men's squad assembled into three eights; one in the championship event and two in the intermediate event. All three men's eights rowed long and hard putting their work over the winter season to the test, with the men's first and second eights securing further BUCS medals. The second eight placed a close second against a very strong crew from Bristol, whilst the men's first eight defended their BUCS head title and extended their winning margin from 2022, against an impressive crew from Imperial College London.

Summary of Results

MCh8+- Gold

MCh4- Gold
MInt8+- Silver
MInt4x- Silver
MChLwt4- Bronze
MCh4x- Bronze
MCh4+- Bronze
WCh8+- Gold
WChLwt4- Gold
WCh4+- Gold
WInt8+- Bronze

Following the extensive medal haul from both the men's and women's squad, DUBC were able collect the men's and women's Victor Ludorum, as well as being awarded the overall Victor Ludorum for the first time in 11 years. This shows great promise for the squad leading into summer racing, following the Easter period. DUBC will look to overturn Newcastle at the Boat Race of the North for the first time in many years, hoping to officially turn the Tyne Palatinate once again. An incredibly successful weekend for the club and for everyone involved.

Fixtures against the Cambridge Blue Boat

On the weekend of the 28th of January, both men’s and women’s First VIII’s travelled down to Ely for some side by side competition with Cambridge University Boat Club as they prepare for the upcoming Boat Race. The opportunity was a great honour for both squads as never before has DUBC been invited down to partake in the Boat Race fixtures, a testament to the athletes’ recent successes at head races and regattas. It was enormously valuable not only in terms of racing experience but also in establishing personal networks between athletes and coaches. As a result, we hope that this marks the beginning of a regular event in the DUBC annual calendar, perhaps even spilling out onto the tideway in future years. 

As for the racing itself, Cambridge unsurprisingly demonstrated their strength and speed immediately. Our men’s First VIII raced the blue boat over two 3km pieces, performing admirably and giving the Cambridge crew a bit of a dogfight down the Ely straight. Likewise, the women’s First VIII came up against a strong coxed four comprised of half of the Goldie boat as the Cambridge women were unavailable due to internal testing. Although victory belonged to the light blues that weekend, our men and women put on a promising display of speed that will be readily built upon into the final head races of the season and into the summer months. 

We are very grateful for the efforts of our coaches, Rob and Will, for organizing this event and being responsible for the transport of equipment. Additionally, we thank CUBC for accommodating our athletes and we wish them all the best for the Boat Race. For our athletes back in Durham, however, it’s back to the grind with GB u23 trials coming up as well as BUCS Head, WeHorr and Horr. It’s a busy time here at DUBC but an exciting one no less.

Alumni Fun After Success at Rutherford Head

This weekend our athletes took on one of the biggest races in the North of England; Rutherford Head. The club came away with some promising results as we approach the conclusion of Michaelmas term and begin our post-season training camp.

The first division saw the men's eights race and the women's fours. The weather was fair but brisk, with glassy water blessing all of the crews racing. The 5km course ran from the A1 bridge back towards the boat clubs and finished at the "man with the blade" about 300 metres past the boat house. All of the crews put in monstrous efforts to come away with strong results. The Men's 1st eight came second overall, closely behind the winners; University of London. The Men's 2nd eight were the 4th fastest 2nd eight, propping up the rear of the band. Similarly, our Men's 3rd eight came sixth in their band, putting out a strong performance for a newly formed crew.

Our Women's fours also did very well in division one. We acquired a win in the women's coxed four; a great achievement for our women's squad. We had a number of women's fours place highly in their band, with our women's lightweight four doing especially well in amongst a majority of heavyweight crews.

In the second division, it was the turn of the women's eights and the men's fours. Our Women's first eight came second in their band, coming in closely behind Edinburgh. A very strong result. The Women's second eight came fifth in their band. We gained a win in the Men's coxed four, who happened to be the 2nd fastest four of the division. We had a number of other strong performances from our men's fours throughout the division, with many placing high in their bands.

We also had a number of alumni racing with our crews, which was great to see. The racing was followed by the annual Rutherford Dinner, where a great time was had by all with some celebratory drinks and food. It's always great to catch up with alumni and relax after a tough day of racing. Thank you to everyone who helped organise and allow Rutherford Head to run smoothly.

Success for DUBC at the Northern Rowing Series

This weekend saw DUBC take part in a series of private fixtures with our neighbours Newcastle, Tyne and also Edinburgh, who made the journey down to partake in some great racing. The fixtures consisted of a 4km Time Trial rate capped at 26spm and two 1k pieces which were done at free rate. DUBC took the time trial by storm, which ran from the A1 bridge, past the infamous Scrapyard corner, up Blaydon Strait to finish at Newburn bridge. Our athletes dominated the race, putting to use all the grim winter miles that have been gained so far.

Our men’s 1st eight won the TT by 19 seconds over Edinburgh’s 1st eight and put a minute into Newcastle’s 1st eight; an impressive result this early in the season. Meanwhile on the women’s side, the 1st eight came second overall in the their TT, placing behind Edinburgh by 4 seconds. However they beat Newcastle by 26 seconds. So far very promising results for our top two eights.

Back to the men’s side, our 2nd eight beat Edinburgh and Newcastle’s 2nd eights, and they placed only 2 seconds behind Newcastle’s 1st eight! They raced very hard in the TT so this result really reflects the hard work that they put in. Similarly the women’s 2nd eight performed exceptionally well. With a number of freshers relatively new to sweeping making up the crew, they placed just behind Edinburgh’s 2nd eight but beat Newcastle by 30 seconds! A very exciting result indeed and a great start to the day for DUBC.

After a short break to let the athletes recover and refuel, it was time to hit the water again for the 1k pieces which started at Newburn Bridge and finished just before the S-bend. The 1st and 2nd eights were matched up with their respective opposition and the racing began. The men’s 1st eight dominated both of their pieces, winning the first piece by a length and the second by a length and a half over Edinburgh, Newcastle and Tyne.

On the women’s side, our 1st eight placed second in both pieces, only narrowly losing to Edinburgh by just a canvas. They raced hard in both pieces, charging all the way to the end, keeping Edinburgh under pressure the whole way.

Our men’s 2nd eight didn’t have it all their own way. After a stellar performance in the TT in the morning, they placed 4th in the 1k pieces behind Newcastle and Edinburgh, despite an impressive sprint to the line both times.

Our women’s 2nd eight smashed the 1k’s, only just losing to Edinburgh but beating Newcastle by clear water on both pieces. Again, an impressive feat for a boat with limited sweep experience.

Overall, it was a great day with extremely positive results for Durham. These fixtures are a great way for everyone to get some coveted race experience in before the important head races during winter so we’d like to thank everyone who organised the event and helped out. It could not have happened without everyone chipping in. We now look forward to Rutherford Head next Saturday, where DUBC will aim to capitalise on these strong results.

DUBC at November GB trials 2022

DUBC travelled down to Boston en force, boasting 18 athletes: 10 women, 6 men and 2 coxes. DUBC turned up to the trials process last year, wide-eyed at the professionalism of some of the athletes - the trials required the athletes to level up. This year DUBC returned with an assurance that they belonged at this grand stage, with results from the previous year and with a solid block of training in small boats under their belts.

The trial began on Saturday, with a 2k ergo test: the athletes had to achieve prescribed cutoffs to proceed further in the process. The DUBC athletes rose to the occasion, delivering 13 PB’s; a special mention must go to Dom Newton and Caroline Rijkse who pulled out two heroic performances, each taking off over 6 seconds off their previous PBs to make the cutoff.

On the next day, a misty November morning provided the stage for a 5 kilometre time trial on the water. Conditions were kind, the glassy water glistening for the small boats to cut through. The first down the track was our men’s pair of Gus John and Andrew Mettrick; despite a low six minute 2k still heavy in their legs from the day before, they produced a classy row, finishing as the 5th u23 pair. The men’s singles were next, where Levin Gräf displayed his European sculling prowess, as the fastest DUBC sculler of the day, taking a 14th place overall finish back up North with him. The other men’s singles, George Reed, Dominic Newton and Peter Goodfellow, all put out gutsy performances - they demonstrated the competitiveness of the Durham programme, as they finished within a couple seconds of each other.

The men set the tone for what would be a successful day for DUBC. Fresher Anna Grace demonstrated her pedigree, as the quickest DUBC woman of the day, and managing a 5th u23 placing to go with it. The performance of the day would wait however for 2nd year Izzy Sellers, attacking the 5 kilometre course ferociously to take the crown, as the fastest u23 lightweight. Fresher Mia Vickerman followed closely in her footsteps, moving her single very effectively to finish 4th in the u23 lightweight category. Caroline Rijkse formed the third and final piece to DUBC’s lightweight women group - Caroline placed as the 8th u23. The other DUBC women raced the scull fearlessly, anticipating the February trial, where they will be able to manifest their better practised sweeping skills in pairs.

It was inspiring to DUBC athletes present at the trial and those who remained at base camp on the Tyne to witness recent DUBC alumni performing at such a high level. Matt Rossiter stroked his pair to the fastest time of the day. He was chased hard by Ryan Todhunter, who flew down the track to finish as the 4th quickest pair. Last year’s women’s captain, Natasha Morrice, now rowing under the Leander colours stamped her mark on the field placing 13th overall on the 2k test followed by a strong performance in the single on the Sunday with her eyes now set on returning to sweep rowing where she earned a silver medal in W8+ at the U23WRC’s this summer.

The focus for the whole squad now turns to Rutherford Head on our home waters in 4 weeks time.

Photo from https://www.allmarkstore.co.uk

Welcoming 4 new Filippi boats to our growing fleet

Set at DUBC’s Robert Gillespie boathouse at the Maiden Castle Sports Centre in Durham, a group of current athletes, alumni and friends of the boatclub gathered in the sunshine this past Saturday, to mark the addition, and naming, of four new Filippi boats into the Durham fleet. Named after DUBC’s first three Olympians - Sam Hobbs ’52, Diana Bishop ’76 and Tom Bishop ’76 - and a distinguished recent alum, Jock Wishart, the new boats bring the top end of our fleet to parity with the best clubs and universities in the country.

We were lucky enough to have both Diana and Tom with us at the ceremony to christen their respective boats. They shared anecdotes with the squad about their time both at DUBC and on the GB team, giving insightful stories about their journey, trials and eventual successes on their way to the top of the sport. Diana’s journey from the DUBC development squad into the first women’s 8+ at Durham and further - onto winning the first ever Women’s Sculler’s Head of the River Race and coming 1st at GB Championships in both the W1x and the W4x - is a history that DUBC is incredibly proud of. The alumni present reminded us of our past successes and of the hard work required to achieve more in the future. It’s a good time to be at Durham.

Sincerely,

Ollie Gordon-Brown

President of DUBC ’22-’23

#BleedPalatinate

George Bourne wins Silver at the World Championships!

This past Sunday alumni George Bourne raced for Great Britain at the World Championships in Racice, Croatia, in the M4x. After qualifying 1st from their heat and second in a tightly contested semifinal, they pushed back on powerful competition from both Italy and the Netherlands to claim a close silver medal, losing out by only 1/3 length to a powerful Polish crew. George graduated from Durham in 2020, and marked his first senior appearance for the GB Team with a medal - it’s a huge achievement, and one that the whole squad is incredibly proud of. We’ll be waiting and watching this space for more great things to come.

Sincerely,

Ollie Gordon-Brown

President of DUBC ’22-’23

#BleedPalatinate