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

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